File photo of PhD student Surabhi Verma.
Ahmedabad: Police have registered a case against a professor of IIT Delhi for alleged negligence after the death of a PhD student last year during the excavation work near the archaeological site in Lothal, Gujarat. The officials gave this information on Thursday. Sub Inspector P.N. Gohil said that the incident took place on November 27 last year near the Harappan archaeological site, but FIR was lodged at Koth police station in Ahmedabad district on March 23 (Sunday) after a complaint by the student’s father.
Death due to soil collapse
Surabhi Verma (23), a PhD student of IIT Delhi, died when she along with her professor Yama Dixit had gone inside the pit for the purpose of collecting earthen samples for her priestly study in Lothal, about 80 km from Ahmedabad and at the same time the soil was sunk in 10 feet deep pit. Surabhi died on the spot, while Dixit was rescued from the pit.
Case filed against professor in these sections
Gohil said that on the basis of the complaint of Surabhi’s father Ramkhelavan Verma, the Koth police have registered a case of careless death. There has been no arrest at the moment. ”A case has been registered against Professor Yama Dixit under Section 106 (Death due to careless) and 125 (threatening the life or personal security of others) of the Indian Code (BNS).
Surabhi went to research 2000 year old atmosphere
According to the FIR, Verma and Dixit came to Gujarat for research project in November 2024, after which both of them reached Lothal to collect samples with a student and a professor from IIT Gandhinagar on 27 November. After reaching the spot, he hired a ‘Economical Operator’ to dig a 10 -foot deep pit near the archaeological remains of Harappa port city of Lothal in Dholka Taluka, Ahmedabad. As soon as Verma and Dixit went inside to take soil samples, the pit collapsed. Verma died on the spot, while Dixit survived, but he suffered a head injury.
According to the FIR, Verma died due to Dixit’s negligence, as she was engaged in ‘dangerous work’ to collect samples from a pit without any security equipment. It said that Dixit did not inform Verma in advance about the work of collecting earthen samples.
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