A third-semester undergraduate student of Mahila Maha Vidyalaya (MMV), Banaras Hindu University, died of a heart attack on October 9 due to “medical negligence by the university,” as alleged by the students.
“The hospital is just 100–200 meters from the campus, and an ambulance could have arrived immediately. But when she (the student) collapsed, the staff said that since only male staff were present, they couldn’t touch her,” Mukul, a student from BHU, told FoEJ Media.
“Such a rule should not exist when it comes to the death of a student,” he added.
In the aftermath of the death, anger spiraled on the campus, with students both from Mahila Maha Vidyalaya and Banaras Hindu University protesting, leading to the detention of students and the arrest of former student Amit for at least three days.
“As the protest was about to end, Amit and another protestor were detained. The other protester was released, but Amit was arrested,” Mukul said.
Amit was arrested allegedly after the administration accused him of being a former student and “instigating violence on campus.” Meanwhile, the students told FoEJ Media that “the protest was completely peaceful.”
“We began protesting after learning that the student’s death was linked to medical negligence. I was also a part of the protest, but the authorities used the fact that I’m a graduate to justify arresting me,” Amit said while speaking to FoEJ Media.
“They just needed an excuse to arrest me; I’ve been actively involved in such activism before as well,” Amit said.
“In a way, they want to create fear so that no one speaks up on such issues; they’re trying to suppress the voices of students,” he added.
Amit also alleged that this is not the “first time such medical negligence has occurred on the part of the university.”
“Earlier, there was also a PhD scholar who was unwell, but she didn’t receive proper medical treatment, and eventually, she too passed away,” Amit alleged.
“And the voices of students have been suppressed for a long time. In 2024, the administration suspended 13 students who were protesting against the alleged mishandling of a sexual assault case that happened in November 2023,” he added.
The main demand of this recent protest was that “there should be proper arrangements, like an ambulance in place, and there should be no medical negligence,” Amit told FoEJ Media.
FoEJ Media also tried contacting the parents of the deceased student, but as Mukul was told, they do not want to raise their voices against it and do not intend to talk about the incident.
