Dalit students threaten suicide: Bihar govt must look into matter without delay, says Dharmendra Pradhan

Mumbai: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday said that the Bihar government needs to look into the matter of sixty Dalit students threatening to commit suicide.

He was responding to reports that 60 Dalit students from Bihar who were studying at the Rajdhani Engineering College in Bhubneshwar had threatened to commit suicide after the Bihar government allegedly stopped paying their college stipends.

"The Bihar government delayed in paying scholarship money to some SC/ST students in college in Bhubaneswar. I have spoken to the college administration to speak to Bihar government so that these students are not driven to extreme steps. Bihar Govt needs to look into this matter without any delay, and come to the aid of these students as soon as possible," Pradhan told ANI here.

The action from the college administration came after the Bihar government failed to pay their stipend despite several reminders sent to it from the college.

The students had taken admission in Rajdhani Engineering College in 2014 under the Dalit stipend scheme of the Bihar government.According to students, the college administration provided them free education, boarding and lodging for more than a year but later refused to carry with free services.

The stipend which Bihar government has to give to these students is approximately Rs 1,10,000 per student annually.