Sahil Wakode's parents begin hunger strike as IIT Bombay defers mid-semester exams
Parents of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode began a hunger strike in Mumbai as the institute deferred mid-semester exams and reissued an apology.
The parents of Sahil Wakode, a second-year BTech student at IIT Bombay who was found hanging in his hostel room on September 18, began a hunger strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Thursday, demanding action against those they hold responsible for his death.
Ravindra and Sonali Wakode launched the strike a day after meeting the chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes in the city and submitting a memorandum seeking a speedy investigation. "Those who tortured my son should be put behind bars. He had told us that he repeatedly faced caste discrimination at the institute," Ravindra said.
Exams postponed, apology reissued
IIT Bombay has deferred its mid-semester examinations, originally scheduled for September 26-27, to October 10-11, an official said. The institute also reissued an apology for its earlier communication, which had suggested that Sahil died by suicide hours after allegedly being caught using ChatGPT in an examination.
In a post on X, the institute said the circumstances leading up to the incident remain under investigation by the appropriate authorities, and that it was inappropriate to have set out or characterised details of the events preceding his death before they had been duly established through the proper investigative process.
The Mumbai Police Crime Branch is probing the death. Faculty member Suryanarayan Doolla, named in an FIR alleging abetment to suicide on grounds of caste discrimination, has been sent on leave to facilitate an impartial inquiry.
Some television channels aired CCTV footage from the examination hall showing Sahil's movements before a professor approached him and led him away after he was allegedly caught copying. There was no word from the police on the matter.
Meanwhile, an email purportedly sent in 2024 by Prof Doolla, then Dean of Student Affairs, has been circulating on social media. In it, he cautioned students against asking peers about their admission categories, JEE (Advanced) ranks or GATE scores, saying such questions could reveal their caste or whether they belonged to a reserved category.
Congress protests, detentions
Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad, party workers and activists of the National Students' Union of India gathered outside the institute's Powai campus on Thursday to express solidarity with Sahil's family. Police detained Congress workers before the protest could begin and later took Gaikwad into custody when she arrived.
Gaikwad described the death as an "institutional murder" and demanded a comprehensive probe, alleging that students face humiliation, particularly those belonging to a particular caste or religion. "This is not the first such incident at IIT. We want accountability," she said, accusing the RSS of infiltrating higher education institutions and alleging that the BJP and RSS have damaged the education system.
Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib demanded the immediate arrest of the IIT Bombay director and another professor.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spoke to Sahil's parents and assured them of support in their fight for justice, party sources said. According to Gaikwad, Gandhi made a video call to the couple while they were travelling to Mumbai from Washim district, and during the nearly 17-minute conversation assured them that he stood with them.