IIT Bombay Student Group Alleges Hostility By Institute During Silent Vigil For Palestinian Children

Mumbai: An event organized on Children's Day to honor the memory of children killed in the Israel-Palestine conflict at The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) was met with administrative hostility by the Chief Security Officer of the institute, a post on social media site X has alleged.

The post, by @IITN4Justice, says that the CSO of the institute aggressively ordered the group to disperse and confiscated stationary citing lack of approval and when students asked for written orders, they couldn't provide any.

This gathering was organised by several students and faculty members near the School of Management building at IIT-B.

The post added that, 'CSO ordered security guards, equipped with batons, to take position and threatened to organise a drill with additional guards, intimidating the group with a possibility of violence.'

The post also says that the institution was pre-informed of the event and yet they had to face administrative obstruction.

Yesterday, IIT-B released a set of guidelines for events held inside campus which include that protests on campus require prior permission from the institute and local police. The instructions come in the backdrop of two events related to the ongoing violence in the Middle East on the IITB campus attracting heated reactions from the students and activists across the political spectrum.

IIT Bombay didn't immediately to The FPJ's request for a comment on the matter.