Sharda University suspends classes after BDS student's death; protests called off amid pressure

Hindustan Times

22-07-2025

All classes at Sharda University were suspended on Monday following the death of a 21-year-old Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) student, who allegedly died by suicide in her hostel room in Greater Noida's Knowledge Park on Friday night. A condolence meeting organised in memory of the deceased BDS student at the Sharda University campus in Greater Noida on Monday. (HT Photo)
The woman, a second-year BDS student from Gurugram, was found unresponsive in her room on the 12th floor of Mandela Hostel around 8.45pm. A handwritten note recovered from the scene reportedly contained serious allegations against faculty members, police said.
Two professors were arrested on Sunday in connection with the case. The university subsequently suspended dean Dr M. Siddharth, assistant professor Shairy Vashist, and associate professor Mahinder Singh Chouhan—all of whom were named in the FIR—pending the outcome of the police investigation.
Greater Noida's additional deputy commissioner of police, Sudhir Kumar, confirmed that an inquiry is underway.
Student protests, scheduled to begin outside the dental department around 8am on Monday, were called off after students were reportedly warned by the college management not to participate. 'On Monday morning, we were informed that if we went ahead with the protest, strict action would be taken against us. We were told that it would affect our future studies,' said a BDS student who requested anonymity.
Following the warning, students cancelled the protest and sent an email to the college administration assuring them that 'no dental students will be seen in any protest'.
In a message to students and staff, college registrar Dr Vivek Kumar Gupta announced the suspension of all classes on Monday 'as a mark of respect and to allow the student community to cope with the recent unfortunate incident'.
Dr Ajit Kumar, director of public relations at Sharda University, said that classes would resume on Tuesday and that exams scheduled to start on July 23 would continue as planned. 'The suspension of classes on Monday was a tribute to the deceased student,' he said.
He added that a five-member committee had been formed to review the incident and that it was working on two standard operating procedures (SOPs)—one for students, aimed at preventing such incidents in the future, and another for professors, outlining their responsibilities, rights, and code of conduct.
Dr Kumar also said that the committee found the deceased student had only 30% attendance. 'This was one of the findings of the internal investigation,' he said.
However, the student's father refuted the university's claim. Speaking to HT, he said, 'Now they can build any story. When I visited the college on June 14, no issue was raised about her attendance. The only issue was a signature that my daughter had firmly denied giving.'
He alleged that his daughter had been targeted for speaking out against certain professors. 'Out of 96 students, my daughter had the courage to oppose the inappropriate behaviour of some faculty members. That didn't sit well with them. They assured me they would not trouble her, but they continued to target her.'
He added that she had not told him about an incident earlier that day. 'Had she informed me that they threw a manual at her, refused to sign her record, and threatened her with a backlog, I would have spoken to her—and perhaps she would still be alive.'
He clarified that her attendance was low only in one subject due to a medical condition. 'She used to reach college late every Monday. All the medical documents had been submitted to the university,' he said.
When asked whether the university had contacted the family after the incident, the father said, 'We have had no communication since then.'
According to police, it was the student in the adjoining room who discovered the body and raised the alarm. Investigators are also looking into the 90-minute delay between the time the student was taken to the hospital and when police were informed.