SFI Demands Justice After Shoolini University Student’s Suicide, Calls It “Institutional Murder”
The Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Himachal Pradesh state committee, is heartbroken and furious. Nitin, an MBA student at Shoolini University, is no more. And they’re calling his death exactly what it is: an institutional murder.
Nitin Chauhan, a 4th-semester MBA student from Rohru, died by suicide on March 28. But his death wasn’t sudden. It was the final, devastating result of a system that squeezed him dry—and then looked away.
Here’s what happened.
In his second semester, Nitin’s internship had nothing to do with management training. He was made to sweep floors, ring bells to attract customers, and carry heavy goods. Humiliating, pointless work dressed up as “learning.”
Then came the placements. He was promised a ₹40,000 monthly salary. That was later slashed to ₹25,000—less than his basic monthly expenses, which were around ₹35,000. When he dared to question this, the placement cell shrugged him off. “Nothing we can do.”
He was then sent to a company in Noida. The terms? Brutal. Salary cuts for missing targets. Arbitrary firing. All for ₹25,000 a month. And then, even that job was taken away.
No help came. Not from the placement cell. Not from his teachers. To add insult to injury, the university kept demanding hostel fees for a period when he wasn’t even living there.
On the evening of March 28, alone in his rented room, Nitin tried to hang himself. His sister found him, cut the noose, and rushed to save him. But it was too late. He died before reaching the hospital.
SFI points out the ugly contradiction. Shoolini University proudly claims “100% placements” under its “Mission 130” campaign. They boast of a ₹42 lakh per annum maximum salary in 2024. But behind the glossy brochures? A business model that pushes students into shady, exploitative companies.
And Nitin’s story isn’t unique. SFI reminds us of a Dalit student in a government college in Dharamshala who faced relentless caste discrimination, mental and sexual harassment. Her mental health crumbled. She died too.
The Supreme Court has spoken clearly: institutions have a “duty of care.” That means complaint systems that actually work. Mental health support that doesn’t exist just on paper. Protection from harassment. But when those systems are absent, tragedies like Nitin’s become inevitable.
What SFI is demanding now:
- A time-bound, independent, and fair investigation into Nitin’s death.
- Immediate action against the university administration, placement cell, and any guilty teachers.
- Criminal charges wherever abetment, coercion, or negligence is proven.
- A full review and strict regulation of placement processes across all higher education institutions in Himachal Pradesh.
- Real, functional mental health support for every student.
SFI-Himachal Pradesh says this loud and clear: Until institutions are held accountable, until a sensitive and strong system is actually built, more students will fall through the cracks.
And they’re not staying silent until then.
