Exclusive: VIT Bhopal tried to cover up jaundice outbreak, probe finds

The three-member inquiry committee was constituted by the Madhya Pradesh Private University Regulatory Commission following the violence and arson, which broke out after several students on campus got jaundice and rumours spread that three had died. The university had later clarified that there were two deaths, both unrelated to jaundice.

The committee, in its report, stated that “hostel mess services are extremely unsatisfactory” and “the quality of food and refreshments has received largely negative feedback from most hostel residents”.

“Female students informed the committee that drinking water had a foul smell. The management admitted before the committee that 23 male and 12 female students suffered from jaundice,” the committee noted, adding that the “on-campus health centre had no accurate record of how many students contracted jaundice”.

“Despite being aware of the spread of the disease, the administration concealed it and attempted a cover-up,” the committee alleged.

The committee flagged that the “campus has been turned into a fortress-like structure”, and even the top medical officer of the district was made to wait for two hours outside the main gate.

“Inside the campus boundary walls, the management enforces its own rules. No one is allowed to speak or give feedback about them. A glaring example of the dictatorial attitude adopted on campus is that the Chief Medical & Health Officer of Sehore district was detained at the main entrance gate for two hours,” the report noted.

Students informed the committee that they “face the constant threat of harassment if they complain”. “In the name of discipline, their I-cards are confiscated, they are barred from appearing in examinations, threatened with low marks or failure in practical exams,” it stated.

“Complaints regarding food arrangements are not addressed, and students are simply told that they must eat whatever is served,” the committee noted. The committee observed that the “basis of discipline in the university is not mutual trust but an atmosphere of fear-based discipline”. The management was “in a state of self-obsession and overconfidence, believing it could handle any situation”, it said.

“Discontent among students kept growing, but the university administration took no appropriate steps to address or satisfy them. Only when the situation went completely out of control, and agitated students could no longer be managed, did the management inform the police administration at 2 am, after which the police restored order,” the report stated.

“Anger had been building among students against the fear-based imposed discipline, which the management completely failed to understand,” the committee stated, explaining why the tensions escalated.

“When students saw their peers falling ill and were advised by the management to go home instead of being taken to the hospital, they became agitated. Instead of calming the agitation, wardens and guards misbehaved and physically assaulted the students, which further escalated their aggression,” the report stated.

University Vice Chancellor K K Nair told The Indian Express, “We have not read the committee report. They discussed only how the violence erupted in the night; they have not discussed any factors like the alleged authoritarian set-up on the campus.”

Higher Education Department Deputy Secretary, Viren Singh Bhalavi, has, meanwhile, issued a show-cause notice to the Chancellor under Section 41(1) of the Madhya Pradesh Private University Act, 2007, demanding an explanation within seven days.