IIT Bombay Faculty Booked for Caste Abuse and Abetment After Student's Death
Mumbai Police booked IIT Bombay faculty member Suryanarayan Dulla for caste abuse and abetment to suicide after a 22-year-old BTech student was found dead in his hostel room.
The Mumbai Police on Saturday registered a first information report against Suryanarayan Dulla, a faculty member in the Energy Science department at IIT Bombay, on allegations of caste abuse and abetment to suicide. The case follows the death of Sahil Wakode, a 22-year-old second-year BTech student in Energy Science, who was found dead in his room in Hostel 4 on the campus a day earlier.
The FIR was filed on a complaint by the student's father, Chakradhar Wakode. Mr. Dulla has been booked under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, along with a charge of abetment to suicide. In his complaint, Mr. Chakradhar also referred to "other senior officers" besides Mr. Dulla.
According to the complaint, Sahil had told his father that over a three-month period, on the instructions of Director Shireesh B. Kedare, Mr. Dulla had been abusing him using caste terms. The complaint states that Mr. Dulla told the student he belonged to a "lower caste" and that he could harass him and implicate him in any false case. Mr. Chakradhar said he had offered his son mental support after learning of this.
In its initial statement, IIT Bombay said Sahil had uploaded the third semester examination question paper on ChatGPT to seek answers. A student present in the same building during the examination said Mr. Dulla caught Sahil and allegedly threatened him with debarment, and asked him to attend a meeting the following day about the incident. Sahil left the examination hall immediately and was later found dead in his hostel room.
The student said a high-stress environment prevailed at the institute, one of India's leading technology schools, and noted that this was the second suicide in Hostel 4 in recent months.
Following the death, students staged a protest on campus. Among their demands is the resignation of the IIT Bombay Director. The police are investigating the circumstances surrounding Sahil's death.
Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State's health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416, and Sneha's suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.