Students of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, gathered for a memorial service at the campus on Friday to honour the memory of 70-year-old retired gardener, Raman Garase, who tragically took his life on May 1. Garase dedicated 39 years of service to IITB before retiring in 2019. Among those present at the meeting were students and relatives of Garase.

Allegations were made by the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), a students’ collective at IIT-B, suggesting that Garase’s suicide stemmed from the exhaustion of a protracted legal battle with the institute regarding post-retirement gratuity relief for contract workers.