A mother’s cry for the truth to be told about the death of her son was echoed on Thursday by his institute. And if Gita Basu wants to know what had caused the death of 21-year-old Soumik, the management of Bengal Engineering and Science University (Besu) also wants to know what ails the Shibpur campus.

The state government has promptly responded on the first count. The day after Soumik’s mother met Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee at the Alimuddin Street party office, the chief minister confirmed a CID probe into the death of the third-year Besu student.

Soumik had died on August 12, of a head injury reportedly suffered after falling from the second floor of a hostel on campus, on the morning of August 9. The family has hinted at foul play, stating that he might have been hit on the head before the fall.

“The boy’s father had lodged a police complaint and we’ve handed over the case to CID,” said inspector general (law and order) Raj Kanojia.

Earlier in the day, on the Shibpur campus, vice-chancellor N.R. Banerjea said the Besu board had written to the chief minister and higher education minister Sudarshan Roy Choudhury urging a high-level probe.

“We do not have any witness. The registrar and the professor-in-charge of students’ affairs found Soumik lying critically injured on the ground,” said Banerjea.

But the university management does not want to restrict the government’s inquiry to the incident; it has requested a thorough probe into the workings of the 150-year-old institution. Expressing grief over Soumik’s death, Banerjea said: “Such an incident has led us to seek advice and support from the government.”

The vice-chancellor said there would be no university representative on a committee that would examine the academic curriculum, the hostel environment, the co-curricular activities on campus, and then suggest remedial measures. “We want an overall improvement of the campus environment,” said Banerjea.

Rather than look at “depoliticising the campus” — a demand he termed “a political one” — the vice-chancellor advocated creation of opportunities to channelise the students’ energies creatively.

Banerjea and other Besu teachers have increased their interaction with students and started visiting hostels to find out ways to engage them in extra-curricular activities.

This is particularly true of third and fourth year students with appointment letters in their pockets and very little pressure to perform.