Student report

    On 22nd May, we (a team of five students) visited Rohit's Family in Bengalipur, Bhaunti at 12 noon. We started with a general discussion about their day-to-day life. We came to know about the following facts regarding their village:

    1. Most of the kids attend primary school.

    2. Each family was allocated land of 5 Bigha, where they can cultivate.

    3. Electricity is available for 8 hours a day.

    4. All the residents are refugees from Bangladesh and were resettled in 1976.

About Rohit:

    1. Rohit was 18 and a half years old according to his Father and elder brother. Both of them said this independently. This is a contradiction to the earlier statement that he was 16 years old. A co-worker of Rohit was also there.

    2. Rohit enrolled in JPJM School in Class 8 last July, but dropped out after 5 months due to financial problems. The school is near the village and should have his Date of Birth proof.

    3. Rohit was physically well built and was even taller than his elder brother aged 22.

    4. Rohit was 3rd among the 6 siblings in his family. His elder sister is married.

    5. Rohit was persuaded not to go to work on 18th May by all his family member and friends. But he didn't listen to them and went to work.

About the Compensation:

    1. Rohit's family was paid a compensation amount of 1.75 lakh on the morning of 20th May by the contractor of Bombay Paint & Sales Company.

    2. The contractor was afraid that the villagers may be hostile. So he gave the amount to a member of the Gram Parishad to deliver to Rohit's family.

    3. 1.2 lakh was paid in the form of cheque and the rest 55,000 in cash.

    4. Rohit's father signed a bond after reading it carefully. The amount was mentioned both in figures and words in the Bond.

    5. There has been no communication from IIT.

Note:

    We suspect that the family has been instructed not to talk about Rohit. The contradiction in his age and their asking about our purpose of visit the moment we arrived hints in this direction. His father seemed contended with the Compensation. When we told them that they should get around 7.5 Lakh according to the Law, they considered it unrealistic. But they said that they have no objection if we try to get them the Compensation of 7.5 Lakh.

    After returning to the campus, we visited the SBRA extension construction site. We talked to the workers there and saw the accident site. We found out that there was no meshing anywhere. The safety belts are of 2 kinds - local made and standard. The local made are just a formality. Most of the workers were wearing helmets. Most of them get about 150 per day. We also checked the Ambulances in the Health Centre and found out that one of the two didn't have oxygen cylinder. When we asked about it in the reception, they said it was gone for refilling.

P.S. We were greatly moved by what we saw today. We will try to show the student community the injustices being carried in the Institute. WE HOPE FOR A CHANGE.