Mumbai:The controversy surrounding the death by suicide of second-year student Sahil Wakode on September 18 at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) escalated significantly on Monday. Amidst the students’ protests to take action against faculty members, the IIT Bombay Faculty Forum came out in strong support of Professor Suryanarayana Doolla.
The faculty body clarified that Professor Doolla has not been suspended from the institute and continues to remain an active member of its faculty in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering. The forum stated that the professor was simply discharging his official academic duties and adhering to standard institutional protocol when he reported an alleged case of examination malpractice involving a mobile phone.
Earlier in the day, the IIT-Bombay removed Suryanarayana Doolla as the dean of Administrative Affairs following protests by students over the suicide of a 22-year-old student, which led to a case of abetment and caste discrimination registered against him. The institute also issued a public apology for its earlier communication that characterised the events preceding the death of the student, Sahil Wakode, before a detailed inquiry was completed.
“We apologise for the statements contained in our earlier communication concerning the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate demise of Sahil. In view of the ongoing investigation, it was inappropriate to have set out or characterised details relating to the events preceding his demise before they had been duly established through the appropriate investigative process,” the institute said.
Wakode, a second-year B.Tech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering was found hanging in his hostel room on the Powai campus on Friday evening, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone to access ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination. The Mumbai Police have booked Doolla under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, following a complaint lodged by Sahil’s family.
In an email to students, IIT Bombay Director Shireesh Kedare confirmed the removal of Doolla, who previously served as the Dean of Student Affairs, from the current post. However, student groups expressed dissatisfaction with the move, demanding his suspension as a faculty member.
In the evening, the faculty members held a march in the institute’s campus to support Doolla. The Faculty Forum said that he followed “Senate-approved exam procedure” when he reported the student for alleged phone use on September 18.
Sahil’s family has alleged that he was subjected to systematic institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination. Mumbai Police Crime Branch is probing the allegations made by the family.
However, the forum issued a statement, noting his key role in launching several student welfare initiatives during his tenure as Dean of Student Affairs. “We are distressed by the vilification of our colleague’s reputation through false and misleading media reports,” the forum stated.
The forum said that during his long tenure as Dean, Student Affairs, Doolla was instrumental in setting up several initiatives for the welfare of the student community on campus.
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