Patna Univ. Students Protest Death of Fellow Student
Chandrashekhar, a BA student at Patna College and Co-Convener of AISA in Patna University, was grievously injured when he fell from the un-barred window of a room in Minto Hostel, and later succumbed to his injuries. Students of Patna University went on strike subsequently in protest against the abysmal infrastructure of the University and hostels in which such an accident was waiting to happen, and against the callous attitude of University authorities who were nowhere to be seen for 36 hours after the accident, leaving Chandrashekhar’s friends and family alone in their desperate bid to secure treatment.
The prestigious PMCH was unable to provide even the basic scans and emergency neurosurgery, and his fellow students were forced to take him from hospital to hospital in vain before a neurosurgeon could be found to perform an operation seven hours after the accident. The Chief of Neurosurgery at PMCH said that had surgery been performed immediately after the accident, there were very good chances Chandrashekhar’s life could have been saved. As it was, Chandrashekhar could not be saved even after he was brought to AIIMS in Delhi.
The University Strike called by AISA to demand compensation for Chandrashekhar’s family and to protest the abysmal state of university infrastructure and medical care received great support from students of most colleges, who joined a protest march in large numbers. Students across the entire state also responded to the call for a state-wide protest.
