Another Death in AMU: Callous Response from Administration

A Student Died: Questionable Response from AMU administration

I am sitting now at Morison Court Hostel. The CCTV tower behind me is kissing the ground after the semi-cyclone hit AMU yesterday causing much destruction. Trees uprooted, electric towers fell, major roads blocked with all this thing and yes the much praised CCTV towers of Library and Begum Sultan Jahan Hall( 2 main receptors among 3, other at Registrar Office is however safe), Abdullah Hall, Sir Syed House ( It seems Sir Syed's soul also cursed it) are now destroyed. It seems they were poorly installed leaving the scope to repair them again sanctioning more money.

I am here talking with some of my old hostelmates like Shavez Raza, Kasim Khan, Mafaz Khan, Faisal Zahid, Syed Nehal Wajid, Faizan Shahid, Zeeshan Malik, Afnan Khan, Mirza Hasan Beg et all( Classmates of the student died day before yesterday at Railway Station) who are seething with anger with the mismanaged and callous response of the administration in the wake of unfortunate death of Aijaz Khan, B.A Political Science(II Year) who hailed from Siwan, Bihar. May Allah rest his soul in peace! As they are stating me, Aijaz went to railway station last night at 9 pm around to see off his friend along with Zafeer & Ghaus. He was crossing Platform No. 3 to 2 when all of a sudden a train hit him from the back which caused lethal injury to him. Nobody came to help. GRP & RPF around contacted to send the injured student to Medical they showed utter callousness and refused to send the student without informing the Proctor. They did not try at all. Students tried to contact the telephone no. printed on I-Card as the student was still alive then but in vain, it did not work. No one helped. The body lied there without any help for 20 minutes, unattended by all. Zafeer & Gaus then took a "TIRRI" and at a moment when the body of that student was half-cut from the waist, with all the blood spilling around they reached the Emergency of JNMC only to know he was already dead. These facts are published in most of the local Hindi newspapers.

As these students are stating me, when the time came to send this deceased body of this AMU student to his home the AMU administration present there i.e Proctor, Asst Proctors, Provost Dr.Suhail Sabir ( Registrar came and went soon) showed utmost insensitive approach. A "Khatara Ambulence"( In their words) was selected with no light inside( it would be boiling in this hot summer, students challenged that if any1 4m administration can stay inside 5 minutes) by them to send that deceased body without properly packing it( they said just a white sheet was on him, shoes were not taken off, later these students took care of that) and placing it on single ice cube. The students protested that this way the body could not reach his hometown, and body may fell and shake gravely on the potholed roads, and after 2 hours the Ice Cubes would get melted. The administration said that the hospital staff of Ambulance can take care of that body as they are habituated with it who when asked by the students denied that this way would be sufficient for that body and they (administration) also said more ice cubes can be bought on the way( I don't know why minimum common sense they did not have, Siwan is 900 km from Aligarh, How many time Ice Cubes can be bought?). The students insisted on more ice cubes then administration said students may themselves arrange that. According to the students, the administration consisting abovementioned people were just in hurry to send that body as soon as possible without thinking how it would be sent. What was the motive is unknown. Vice-Chancellor Sir on the other side was in Delhi and busy in publishing his achievements and busy with AMU branch thing.

As per his classmates around me, when one student proposed that LIFELINE ambulance with air-conditioned and other special facilities can be called at Rs.40000 to send that body properly to his hometown, the Proctor said they don't carry dead bodies and they can't arrange Lifeline Ambulance then. Students unknown of the funds( Later I told them under Miscellaneous fund collected from students University already have 2 Crores now, apart from that many other emergency funds are there) proposed to the Proctors and others, that later on University can charge in their hall dues if they do not have required amount then( What a shame!). The Proctor agreed but said that the students may arrange Lifeline Ambulance themselves. A student Hasnat had their number and they called Lifeline Ambulance, they agreed and said if Rs.40000 is deposited to their Office at GT Road, they have no problem to send that deceased student to his hometown). However as per the students though they agreed and LIFELINE AMBULANCE was on their way to JNMC but did not reach for long and made lame excuses. In the meantime C.O Civil Lines Omprakash Singh heard the facts from the students and he himself called LIFELINE Ambulance Office and I must held him in high regards for the thing he said to them that their fee may be adjusted later , he assure them of that but they must reach JNMC immediately. When LIFELINE AMBULANCE reached there, the Proctor that moment insisted that now more ice cubes need to be packed with body else University administration won't send it with this LIFELINE ambulance. Shavez (Morison Court) asked the driver if they have any problem with it and he said they have no problem with anything if Rs.40000 is given to them.

Now Shavez and Mafaz, while riding on their bike to search for Ice Cubes in the market( Proctor said that students may themselves arrange the ice cubes. I don't know why so many staff are there and whether university have no responsibility?), C.O Civil Lines O.P.Singh saw them and advised them to take the Police Geep ( I must praise him for his help again. Proctor Office people were mute spectator to it. Their vehicles were not for students as if.) He asked the police driver and that arrange the Ice Cubes from anywhere and help those students. So after the Ice Cubes were arranged by the students themselves and adjusted with the body, then the student bid farewell to their deceased friend in that LIFELINE AMBULANCE along with one his relative and friend.

However I would praise about the Proctor on one point as I heard from the students that he advised that FIR can be lodged against the GRP/RPF for negligence if the post mortem would be done of that student but his relatives seemed not to agree with post mortem thing. All of the above facts of negligence and callousness was accepted by one former Senior Proctorial Monitor today to me.

However may be there would be some biasness in presenting this story to me by the students who were hurt to see all this going on, but I would expect that people should know what administration say in their defence of their actions regarding this deceased student. I hope someone amongst them would reply to my questions.

But above all this incident left many question for the administration:

1. They apparently installed the CCTV cameras for the security of the students and for the safety of their lives are of 2.1 Crore. As I heard from Shadab Bhai, Research Scholar, Department of Computer Science, Aftab Hostel that even in the case of Mazhar Naeem( Who was murdered and followed a sine die in 2007), even after so many calls made by the him and others at Proctor Office and other places the university vehicle reached the spot to take him only after 20 minutes. This time students carried the body in a TIRRI when no help came. University can think of CCTV cameras but cant they think of any emergency Ambulance or line one of LIFELINE AMBULANCES to be purchased of worth Rs. 10-20 lacks with all the emergency facilities, air-conditioned, shock absorbers( APOLLO have this) with any special number popularized among the students which can reach any spot immediately to attend any seriously injured student and save his life. No! They have no time to think about the lives of the student but they want projects worth crores so that some fill their pocket.
2. Well though I agree there was a need to send that body soon to his hometown but why University authorities did not care earlier to send him properly in a way that his body would be properly preserved and won't be affected in the potholed roads. Why this much callousness? Had their relatives faced this thing would have they acted this way?
3. When students advised the administration (Why they need it I don't know) about the LIFELINE AMBULANCE why there was so much hesitation even University have enough funds for such facilities. University have no problem when Vice-Chancellor's kins travel by Air, but they can't arrange themselves and pay for proper vehicle to send a deceased AMU student. Why? Why only after student insisted they arranged that?
4. I remember when my friend Mulla Sabit Ali died in 2007( the first death in 2007), Naseem Ahmad, Former Vice-Chancellor arranged to send his dead body packed properly by Air to his hometown in Orissa and next day issued a notice pasted everywhere stating the expenditure made for this purpose and the Head of Account( Miscellaneous Fund) may be. But Mulla Sabit's relatives denied accepting that amount. Why now the university administration shows no responsibility and care to their students and Police and District Administration shows the same thing more than them? O.P.Singh, C.O Civil Lines in this case as students said helped them a lot.

We know it very well, if we protest even peacefully about such callousness and insensitiveness the AMU administration would immediately suspend some 20 of us and some Old Boys would start competition among them in rallying behind the administration saying "some elements are against the interest of the university and peace must be kept at any cost. Throw them out of our beloved alma mater" but won't ever ask the administration to think about us. And they know merely by asking for anything nothing helped us till date . This time the University administration is morally responsible for this death again as they could not provide any emergency help to the students.

I never justify violence as a form of protest, never been associated with it. But sometime the amount of insensitiveness and callousness I see here these days, I believe as things are not like Old days when University administration showed much more care to the students, now AMU students without love and care would be unruly and violent only. It's their actions that are responsible, not us.

Md. Adil Hossain [adilhossain43@yahoo.in] M.A(Previous) Mass Communication AMU, Aligarh

Courtesy: TheAligarhForum@yahoogroups.com