Kolkata: Four years after IIT Kharagpur student Faizan Ahmed was found dead in his hostel, his mother, Rehana Ahmed, is still fighting for justice. No arrests have been reported despite a court-ordered Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe. The case remains unresolved, with the Calcutta High Court continuing to hear proceedings related to the investigation.
On October 14, 2022, the partially decomposed body of the third-year mechanical engineering student was found in a hostel room on the IIT Kharagpur campus. The postmortem report later suggested that he had died three days earlier, on October 11.
A resident of Tinsukia, Assam, Faizan was the only child of Rehana and Salim Ahmed. He had secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 11 in JEE Main 2020. Inspired by Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO and an IIT Kharagpur alumnus, Faizan chose the institute for his engineering studies. The COVID-19 lockdowns delayed his arrival on campus until December 2021. Within months, he had joined two robotics research teams funded by the Centre.
However, the initial postmortem did not conclusively establish the cause of death, and the police classified it as suicide.
His parents refused to accept this conclusion and approached the Calcutta High Court. Justice Rajasekhar Mantha appointed forensic expert Dr Ajay Kumar Gupta to examine photographs and videos of Faizan’s body. After reviewing the material, Gupta recommended a fresh postmortem to establish the cause of death.
The second postmortem was conducted at Calcutta Medical College in May 2023 after Faizan’s body was exhumed in Assam and brought to Kolkata.
Faizan Ahmed Case: Second Autopsy Leads to SIT Investigation
The findings prompted Justice Mantha to observe that Faizan’s death appeared to be homicidal in nature. In June 2023, the court ordered the constitution of a Special Investigation Team to investigate the case, with the probe led by senior IPS officer K Jayaraman.
The order marked a significant turning point in the case, which had initially been treated as suicide.
Both the West Bengal government and IIT Kharagpur challenged the single bench’s orders before a division bench. The state government opposed the changes to the investigation, while IIT Kharagpur questioned the second postmortem and sought to overturn the order.
On August 16, 2023, a division bench comprising then Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam and Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya upheld the central direction for an SIT investigation. The case continued under the court’s directions, with the second postmortem report playing a central role in the proceedings.
More than three years have passed since that order. Yet, no arrests have been reported, and Faizan’s family continues to wait for answers.
Faizan Ahmed Case Hearing: Calcutta High Court Seeks Documents
In subsequent hearings on September 29 and October 12, 2026, the Calcutta High Court dealt with the exchange of documents in the case. Neither order records a decision on the West Bengal government’s request for the constitution of a medical board to examine the two postmortem reports.
In its September 29 order, Justice Md Shabbar Rashidi directed the court-appointed forensic expert to provide his report to the petitioners’ lawyer. The court also asked the petitioners to furnish a list of documents relied upon by the state in its report.
In the October 12 order, the court directed that the documents sought by the petitioners be supplied within a week of the reopening of the court after the Puja vacation. The matter has been listed for November 30, 2026.
The two orders do not establish whether the court will accept or reject the state’s request for a medical board at a later stage. The issue therefore remains unresolved in these proceedings.
Over the past four years, Faizan’s parents have travelled repeatedly to Kharagpur and Kolkata and attended hearings at the Calcutta High Court. His mother also wrote to then West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, seeking a meeting and her intervention to expedite the investigation. However, Banerjee never met her, according to Rehana.
After the government led by Suvendu Adhikari came to power, Rehana sought the new chief minister’s intervention. Adhikari met her on July 30, 2026, and assured her of support. Despite the assurance and the continuing court proceedings, the family is still waiting for accountability.
IIT Student Deaths: 171 Deaths Reported Between 2005 and 2025
The case has also drawn attention to the wider issue of student deaths at the country’s premier engineering institutions. Reports suggest that at least 171 student deaths, including suicides and other unnatural deaths, were recorded across the IITs between 2005 and 2025. Between 2021 and 2025 alone, 53 student deaths were reported.
Student deaths have also triggered protests at IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay, with concerns over student welfare and institutional accountability.
“I lost my only child, but I have not received justice. I strongly believe that student deaths at IITs could have been prevented if an example had been set in Faizan’s case, new rules had been framed and implemented, and the accused had been arrested. But none of this happened. As a result, the loss of brilliant young lives across the country continues, with more students dying inside these premier institutions,” Rehana Ahmed, Faizan’s mother, told eNewsroom.
