- IIT Bombay placed professor on leave, formed student suicide inquiry.
- Police questioned professor; family alleges prolonged caste-based harassment.
- Investigators review CCTV footage, reconstruct student’s final movements.
IIT Bombay Student Suicide: IIT Bombay has placed Professor Suryanarayana Doolla on leave and constituted a 10-member committee to examine the circumstances surrounding the death by suicide of BTech student Sahil Wakode, as the Mumbai Crime Branch continues its investigation.
The committee, headed by Professor Ramesh Venkateswaran, chairman of the Board of Governors at IIT Palakkad, has been asked to submit its report within a week. The panel includes members from the faculty and administration, students and a psychiatrist.
The institutional inquiry comes alongside the police investigation into allegations raised by Sahil’s family, including claims of caste-based harassment. The allegations have not been established and remain under investigation.
Doolla Called For Questioning
The Mumbai Crime Branch has summoned Professor Doolla for questioning as investigators examine the events leading up to Sahil’s death.
Officials are expected to record Doolla’s statement as part of their effort to establish the sequence of events involving the student. Investigators had previously questioned Sahil’s parents.
The case was transferred to the Crime Branch after Mumbai Police registered an FIR based on a complaint filed by Sahil’s family. Their complaint included allegations of caste-based harassment, which police are currently examining.
CCTV Footage Examined
Investigators are reviewing CCTV footage from several locations across the IIT Bombay campus, including the examination hall and hostel, to reconstruct Sahil’s movements on September 18.
According to the footage reviewed by investigators, Sahil was questioned during an examination before leaving the hall between 12:30 pm and 12:45 pm. Police are now attempting to establish his movements after he left the examination venue.
The footage indicates that Sahil reached his hostel room at around 1:25 pm. Investigators are examining recordings between these two points as they piece together the timeline of the day.
IIT Bombay had earlier said Sahil was caught using a mobile phone during the examination and had allegedly used ChatGPT to obtain answers to the question paper. The institute subsequently apologised for the statement, acknowledging that it was incorrect to characterise events preceding Sahil’s death before the investigation had established the facts.
Family Raises Allegations
Sahil’s family has alleged that he faced prolonged harassment from Professor Doolla.
“He specifically told us that Professor Suryanarayana Doolla would say, ‘I am from an upper caste and you are from a lower caste.’ According to what Sahil told us, this had been continuing for around three months,” she claimed.
The family member also said Sahil described his experience at the institute as abusive when they met him in his hostel room on September 13.
She further disputed IIT Bombay’s earlier account regarding the alleged use of ChatGPT during the examination, arguing that allegations of academic misconduct should be supported by evidence.
The claims made by the family are part of the ongoing investigation and have not been independently established.
ALSO READ: Trump Backs India-Middle East-Europe Corridor, Calls For Energy Routes To Bypass Iran
Faculty Forum Supports Doolla
The IIT Bombay Faculty Forum has backed Professor Doolla, maintaining that he was carrying out his responsibilities as an invigilator during the examination.
Faculty Forum president Rajkumar Pant said Sahil had not recently approached the institute’s SC/ST cell with a complaint.
Pant also said Doolla had not been suspended from his faculty position. According to him, the professor continues to serve as a faculty member at IIT Bombay but has been relieved of his administrative responsibilities.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com
