The family ended their strike in the night but said they would restart it if Doolla is not arrested. Mumbai: The parents of IIT-B student Sahil Wakode, who died by suicide, went on a hunger strike at Azad Maidan on Thursday evening and put forward a series of demands, including a CBI probe and the arrest of Prof Suryanarayana Doolla, who has been named as accused in the abetment to suicide case.
“If the accused is not arrested, we will continue with the strike on Saturday, either at Azad Maidan or at IIT,” Ingle said. Police said they had granted a day’s permission for hunger strike at Azad Maidan for Thursday. “We will grant permission if they approach us,” a police officer said. Before they could reach the IIT-B campus, police intercepted them in the Bhandup area and took them into custody as a “precautionary measure”.
The Wakodes had originally planned to sit on a hunger strike outside IIT-B’s Powai campus. Mumbai police stopped them at Bhandup and asked them to shift the agitation to Azad Maidan. Before heading there, the Wakodes met Kishor Makwana, chairperson of NCSC, and submitted their demands. During the day, Youth Congress politicians Uday Bhanu Chib, Zinat Shabreen and Shivraj More met with the Wakode family, and they arranged the parents’ communication with Rahul Gandhi on the phone. A delegation led by Youth Congress national president Uday Bhanu Chib met city joint commissioner of police Manojkumar Sharma and sought action against “those responsible for Sahil’s death. They reached Karanja Lad in Washim district early Wednesday before turning around and beginning the journey back to Mumbai. By Thursday, the family had returned to the city and was again heading towards Powai to begin the hunger strike. They were later taken to Sahyadri Guest House, where they met Makwana.
Siddharth Ingle, one of the lawyers representing the family, said the parents would visit the crime branch on Friday to seek the status of the case. The family has alleged that on Tuesday night, after police learnt of their plans to protest outside the institute, the parents and their advocate Nikhil Kamble were taken in a private vehicle and driven out of Mumbai against their wishes.
Rights and Support Extended to Victims’ Families
Authorities have mandated that the family of the victims must be kept updated on significant developments in the case. They will also receive all rights, protections, and assistance available to victims and their dependents under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, which aims to safeguard marginalized communities from discrimination and violence.
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) visited IIT-B on Thursday and asked officials to furnish a detailed action taken/investigation report.