Second-year B Tech student Sahil Wakode died by suicide on IIT-B campus on Friday
Mumbai: In a late-night three-hour meeting on Sunday, IIT-Bombay director Shireesh Kedare spoke to the students who gathered in large numbers at the institute’s main gate to protest against the death by suicide of BTech student Sahil Wakode (20). In the meeting, which was recorded live by the students, the institute’s administration discussed 18 demands put forth by the protesters and signed it. As part of the institute approved procedure, he reported the incident to institute authorities for further action in the matter. ” Replacing the fans was among the measures the institute had assured students it would undertake in July, following the death by suicide of another student from the same hostel.
The forum said, “…the professor was discharging his duties in line with the institute’s Senate approved academic policies currently in force”. It added, “Prof Doolla was invigilating in the examination on Friday, when he observed that a student was indulging in an academic malpractice…
The students also asked for an open apology for ‘defaming’ Sahil and an open house with all the stakeholders before Sept 22. Sahil’s family had filed an FIR against Doolla and ‘other institute officials’, accusing them of abetment and harassment over the last three months. The list of demands also includes an independent investigation committee with student representatives and external members recommended by them, suspension of officials who are found guilty after the probe, and a fair compensation for the families. Students have also sought a code of conduct and sensitisation for professors. Amid the ongoing protest, IIT-B’s faculty forum has come out in support of Doolla.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the forum, while mourning the loss of life of the student and extending condolences to the family, strongly expressed their solidarity with the professor.