Mumbai Police have registered an FIR naming an IIT Bombay professor and other officials in connection with the death of second-year Energy Science and Engineering student Sahil Wakode, while sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act have also been invoked following a complaint by his parents. The investigation has been transferred to the Crime Branch.
Wakode, 20, was found dead in his hostel room after he was reportedly caught using a mobile phone during an examination held between 2pm and 4pm on Friday. The report said he had allegedly uploaded the question paper to an artificial intelligence platform to obtain answers. IIT Bombay said he was counselled after the incident and that no disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against him.
The FIR names Suryanarayan Doola, an Energy Science professor who was serving as the invigilator during the examination and had earlier been the institute’s Dean of Student Affairs. Other senior and concerned officials have also been mentioned in the complaint. Wakode’s parents alleged that their son had faced harassment and caste-based remarks, including from Doola, for around three months after entering his second year.
The allegations are disputed by IIT Bombay. Director Professor Shirish Kedar told the newspaper that the institute does not discriminate against students on the basis of caste in its routine functioning, administration or faculty conduct. He also said students’ caste information is kept confidential and is not generally available to others. The institute’s SC/ST cell separately told students by email that it had not received any complaint from Wakode alleging caste-based discrimination.
There are also conflicting accounts of what happened after Wakode was found with the phone. His parents and some students alleged that he was taken out of the examination hall and threatened with suspension. IIT Bombay said no disciplinary action had been initiated and that the student had been assured the incident would not affect his academic career. Institute rules, as reported, allow suspension for one semester when a student is found carrying a gadget during an examination.
Wakode’s parents initially refused to collect his body from the post-mortem centre at Rajawadi Hospital and sought action against those named in the complaint. They later took the body after senior police officials assured them that the investigation had been handed to the Crime Branch. An officer of the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police is expected to conduct the inquiry.
The family said Wakode was their only child and that he had appeared normal during a telephone conversation with his mother on Thursday night. His father was unable to reach him after the examination on Friday afternoon, and the family was informed of his death at around 8pm by the institute and Powai police.
The case has also triggered protests on campus. IIT Bombay postponed the mid-semester examinations scheduled for Saturday as demonstrations continued. The student’s family lawyer, Nikhil Kamble, sought the appointment of a special public prosecutor, an expedited trial and immediate compensation under provisions of the SC/ST Act.
IIT Bombay said it would cooperate fully with the police investigation and appealed to the public to respect the family’s privacy and avoid speculation while the inquiry is under way.
