Crime Branch Takes Over IIT Bombay Student Suicide Probe as Students Press 18 Demands
Mumbai Crime Branch has taken over the investigation into the alleged suicide of a second-year IIT Bombay student, as protests and an 18-point charter of demands roil the campus.
The Mumbai Crime Branch has taken charge of the investigation into the death of a 22-year-old student at IIT Bombay, an incident that has sparked widespread protests on campus, a police case against a faculty member, and demands for broad institutional reform.
Sahil Ravindra Wakode, a second-year BTech student in the Energy Science and Engineering department and a resident of Yavatmal district in Maharashtra, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in Hostel Number 4 on Friday evening.
Acting on a complaint from Wakode's parents, the Powai police registered a First Information Report on Saturday against Professor Suryanarayan Doolla. The FIR invokes Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The family alleges that Wakode faced institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination before his death.
The case was transferred to the Crime Branch on Saturday night. The Assistant Commissioner of Police (Detection) will supervise the probe and is expected to summon the accused professor and others for questioning.
Conflicting accounts
The incident occurred hours after Wakode was allegedly found using a mobile phone and ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination. According to IIT Bombay, the student had uploaded the question paper to the AI tool seeking answers. The institute said no disciplinary action was initiated and that the instructor and the Head of the Department counselled him, assuring him the matter would not harm his academic career.
Protesting students dispute this account, saying Wakode was subjected to severe pressure and threats of academic suspension before he returned to his room and ended his life. They are demanding accountability and transparency from the administration.
Faculty forum backs professor
The IIT Bombay Faculty Forum issued a statement expressing solidarity with Prof. Doolla. While offering condolences to the family, the forum said the invigilator was merely carrying out his duties under Senate-approved policies when he detected the student's unauthorised possession and use of a smartphone. Students, meanwhile, are calling for Doolla's immediate suspension.
Eighteen-point charter
Tensions culminated in a 90-minute, live-streamed meeting on Sunday between students, senior faculty and IIT Director Shireesh Kedare. Kedare accepted a charter of more than 18 demands and assured students the administration would review them. He is set to hold a town hall meeting after the institute's apex decision-making body convenes, and all lectures were cancelled for Monday.
While agreeing to examine the charter, the administration rejected demands for Kedare's resignation and an independent inquiry into the deaths of four students during his tenure. On the call to suspend Doolla, Kedare said the institute would follow due process.
The students' charter seeks sweeping systemic changes, including an independent committee of professors, student representatives and external members to examine the circumstances of Friday's death, with findings made public before September 30; a dedicated task force to address student suicides and overhaul disciplinary procedures; mandatory mental health sensitisation for faculty and staff; and equal student representation and voting rights in academic and non-academic committees dealing with student matters.
Wakode's death is the third reported suicide on the IIT Bombay campus in seven months, following the deaths of two other second-year students in February and July.