IIT Bombay students have said their protest following the death of student Sahil Wakhode is seeking institutional reforms, an independent investigation and stronger accountability, not a defence of alleged academic misconduct. The clarification came in a statement issued late on Monday as students responded to claims that the agitation was intended to support wrongdoing.
The students said their demand that Prof Suryanarayana Doolla be temporarily relieved as dean of administrative affairs should not be read as a presumption of guilt. They said the request was intended to ensure that the investigation remained independent and was not influenced by the dean’s administrative position. Any finding of responsibility, they added, must be based on evidence and the outcome of a fair investigative process.
“We stand with Prof Doolla as a member of our faculty community and believe that the investigation must be allowed to proceed fairly and impartially,” the student representatives said in their statement. Their position separates the demand for temporary administrative relief from any conclusion about the professor’s responsibility.
According to the statement, the death of Wakhode prompted students to examine wider concerns about institutional systems, accountability and student welfare at the institute. The representatives said that the circumstances surrounding his death had compelled them to reflect more deeply on the processes followed within IIT Bombay.
The students said they had collectively prepared a comprehensive set of demands over the previous few days and submitted them to the IIT Bombay director. The director acknowledged and signed the demands and agreed to work towards their implementation within specified timelines, according to the statement.
Students were also given an opportunity to raise questions and concerns directly at an open house meeting, which the director addressed in detail. The representatives said they appreciated the administration’s engagement and hoped the process would continue as the institute worked to identify and address the issues that had surfaced.
A section of the protesting students, however, has held the director responsible for what it described as structural shortcomings at the institute. They also alleged that misinformation about Wakhode was circulated before an investigation had been completed. These students have sought a statement from the director clarifying that the protest is not in support of cheating, but against what they described as an arbitrary and unjustified exercise of power.
The students said the director had agreed on September 20 to their demand that Doolla be relieved of all responsibilities for the duration of the probe. The demand places the question of temporary administrative separation at the centre of the students’ effort to protect the credibility of the investigation while avoiding a premature finding of guilt.
