Disappointed with CBI probe: Fathima’s father

“Though the case has been transferred to the CBI from the Chennai Crime Branch (CCB), no one has contacted us till now,” Abdul Lathief said.

“It has been more than 40 days since she died. My family members and I are crying daily as we have not got justice so far,” he said.

He refuted media reports stating that the CCB had given a clean chit to three professors of IIT Madras against whom Fathima had made allegations in her suicide note of being responsible for her death.

“How is it possible for the media to know the details as the CCB had given its report on the progress of the investigation to the court in a sealed cover,” he asked.

The media reports, quoting sources, had claimed that the CCB had given a clean chit to the three IIT professors whom Fathima had named in her suicide note.

The probe team had disclosed its report to the Tamil Nadu Home Department in which it notified that there was no evidence against the professors for inciting the student to commit suicide.

The report claimed the CCB came to the conclusion of exonerating the professors after examining more than a hundred people, including Fathima’s friends and family and IIT’s staff and faculty members.

“I am highly disappointed,” the father said, adding that there was absolutely no communication from the probe agency. Originally the case was registered by the Kotturpuram police and later transferred to the CCB.

The investigation was transferred to CBI when Abdul Lathief and Sajitha, with a delegation of Kerala MPs, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on December 5 and sought justice for their daughter.

The deceased student, hailing from Kollam in Kerala, was pursuing her first year under graduation in the humanities stream (five-year integrated MA programme). She reportedly committed suicide on November 9 by hanging from a ceiling fan. Her family had found Fathima’s suicide notes on her mobile phone.