Amit Patkar, President of the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee, has strongly condemned the tragic discovery of yet another student found dead this morning at the BITS Pilani Goa campus, calling it a damning indictment of the complete collapse of student safety, mental-health governance, and administrative responsibility in the State of Goa.
“This is not an accident. This is not fate. This is failure,” Patkar said, pointing out that with this incident, six students have lost their lives at the BITS Pilani Goa campus since December 2024. He accused the BJP government and Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant of responding only with “hollow condolences, cosmetic committees, and criminal inaction,” without any systemic reform, fixing of responsibility, or urgency.
Patkar asserted that Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant must take direct and moral responsibility for these repeated deaths. He said that a government which advertises “good governance” and “model education” cannot escape accountability when students are dying under its watch. According to him, the government has failed to enforce mandatory student-welfare and mental-health safeguards, failed to regulate and monitor elite private institutions operating in Goa, failed to act despite repeated warning signs, and failed parents who trusted Goa with their children’s lives.
He further stated that the BITS Pilani management stands completely exposed, arguing that six deaths on one campus are not a coincidence but point to institutional negligence, unchecked academic pressure, and the absence of effective mental-health intervention. Patkar said the institution cannot hide behind its brand name, adding that internal committees, token counselling sessions, and press statements amount to damage control after irreversible loss.
Raising questions on behalf of the people of Goa, Patkar asked how many more students must die before the Chief Minister intervenes, why no independent judicial inquiry has been ordered despite repeated deaths, why the BITS management continues to function without scrutiny or consequences, and why findings, audits, and corrective measures are kept away from the public.
The Goa Pradesh Congress Committee has demanded immediate action, including a time-bound independent judicial inquiry into all student deaths at BITS Pilani Goa since December 2024, registration of criminal negligence proceedings wherever applicable against the BITS management and responsible officials, an external mental-health and student-safety audit conducted by independent experts, strict government-mandated student-welfare compliance norms with penalties including suspension of admissions if violations are found, and a clear public statement from Chief Minister Dr. Pramod Sawant detailing answers, timelines, and action taken.
“Condolences after deaths are meaningless. Silence is criminal. Inaction is culpable,” Patkar said, warning that continued inaction would prove that the BJP government values image management over human lives. He reaffirmed that the Congress stands firmly with the students and grieving families seeking justice and stated that Goa must not be allowed to become a graveyard of shattered dreams under BJP misrule.
