A former student of IIT-Mandi hailing from the Dalit community has levelled allegations of caste-based harassment against the hostel staff. The victim, a native of Gurugram, has said that during his tenure in the IIT hostel, he was tortured and harassed based on his caste by the catering staff and the hostel warden.
On Friday, police acted upon the complaint, registering a case against five individuals under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989.
The IIT-Mandi management has also launched an internal committee to investigate the allegations. Among the accused are the hostel warden and four faculty members, according to reports.
This incident follows a separate case at IIT Mandi from September, where the institution took strong action by suspending ten students, including student body office-bearers, and initiating disciplinary proceedings against 62 others. These actions were in response to allegations of ragging against junior students during an event.
In a related development, the Director of IIT Mandi, Laxmidhar Behera, had stirred controversy by urging students to pledge not to consume meat. He linked this call to the occurrence of landslides and cloudbursts in Himachal Pradesh, attributing them to cruelty towards animals.
