A Delhi University student, who came to participate in the protest in Mumbai
After performing the rituals and spending a few hours with the protesting students on the campus, the parents were ‘forcibly’ taken to Azad Maidan police station and detained until 6 pm. Around 20 IIT-Bombay students were also allegedly dragged away from the protest site on campus and put into a bus by the police before being detained. Sahil’s parents reached the campus at around 12 pm While the demonstration outside the campus started at 11 am on Sunday. Minutes before the parents reached the ‘Justice Corner’ near the main gate, around 10 students were forcibly dragged into a police van and taken outside the campus. Sharad Saraf, former chairperson of IIT Bombay ’s Board of Governors, in a statement, said political parties must stay away from the institute, warning that interference and campus disruptions could damage its global reputation and affect the academic performance, mental well-being and career prospects of its 12,000 students. Stop playing with the lives and futures of 12,000 IIT Bombay students.
The father insisted that the detained students be released.
They were then brought back to the campus after some time,” said Siddharth Ingle, who is representing the Wakode family. he said steps must be taken to ensure that no further unfortunate incident occurs on campus While expressing concern over Sahil Wakode’s death. Saraf further said, “I want to issue a clear warning: if further disruptions continue to jeopardise students’ academic performance and well-being, all stakeholders must be prepared to accept responsibility for the consequences of their actions.
Condemning the police crackdown, students claimed they sustained injuries and their clothes were torn during the action. In an online post, they questioned the IIT administration for failing to stop the alleged police brutality. This was the first time students participating in the month-long protest at the institute had been detained. The police also allegedly dismantled the protest site, which had come to be known as the ‘Justice Corner’, removing banners and posters. Students have been protesting at the site for a month since Sahil’s death, including by holding a relay hunger strike. “When we reached the site, there were no students. Meanwhile, Congress leaders and legislators Varsha Gaikwad, an MP, and Aslam Shaikh, an MLA, also visited the campus to pay homage to Sahil Wakode, arriving around the same time as his family. Institute sources claimed that the police were present on the campus for the MP’s visit. The students questioned the IIT administration for failing to stop the alleged police action in a social media post later. In their list of demands, the parents have sought a complete sequence of events after Sahil left the exam hall, with CCTV footage and related institutional records, including the medical assistance and emergency response. They have sought details of all the persons who interacted with him after he left the exam hall. They have also questioned the institute’s authority to get an ‘apology letter’ after the incident of alleged malpractice. We cannot afford to wait for another tragedy before recognising the harm that prolonged disruption can cause. Keep politics away from IIT Bombay. Let our students focus on their education, research and innovation.”
Mumbai: High drama unfolded on the IIT-Bombay campus on Sunday when the parents of Sahil Wakode visited the institute to pay homage to their son, who died by suicide in his hostel room a month ago. The institute administration did not comment on Sunday’s incident. A candlelight march was expected to be held on Sunday evening to pay homage to the student on the campus.