Grieving Parents Demand Immediate Arrests in IIT Bombay Student...
The parents of Sahil Wakode, an IIT Bombay student found dead in his hostel room, visited the Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Tuesday demanding the...
By GT24x7 Reporter··GlobalToday24x7
In an escalating development surrounding the demise of an undergraduate student at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), the deceased student's parents on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, demanded the immediate arrest of the institute's Director, Professor Shireesh B. Kedare, and Professor Suryanarayana Doolla. The parents visited the Mumbai Police Crime Branch office in Bandra, formally recording their statements and insisting on strict enforcement of the First Information Report (FIR) registered in connection with the incident.
Sahil Ravindra Wakode, a second-year B.Tech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering hailing from Yavatmal, Maharashtra, was found dead in his hostel room on the Powai campus on the evening of September 18, 2026. The death occurred hours after an examination room incident wherein invigilators alleged he had engaged in academic malpractice involving an electronic device.
Allegations of Systematic Harassment and Parental Regret
Speaking to news agencies outside the Crime Branch headquarters, Sahil’s mother, Sonali Wakode, and father, Ravindra Wakode, expressed profound remorse over how they responded when their son previously shared his difficulties. Sonali Wakode stated that during a hostel visit on September 13, Sahil had confided in them that he was experiencing sustained humiliation and discrimination.
“We tried to give him moral support and advised him to focus on his studies because he had secured admission to IIT and had a bright future ahead. In hindsight, I feel that telling him to tolerate the situation was our mistake,” she said. She noted that the family had attempted to persuade him to persevere through the environment rather than bringing him back home to Yavatmal, expressing grief that their guidance failed to prevent the tragedy.
The parents claimed in their police complaint that Professor Doolla, who heads the department, repeatedly made disparaging remarks regarding Sahil’s social background, telling him he belonged to a lower caste and threatening to implicate him in disciplinary infractions over the preceding three months. Ravindra Wakode defended his son’s academic integrity, pointing out that Sahil cleared the rigorous Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced on his own merit.
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Disputed Examination Incident and Administrative Stance
The incident that immediately preceded the tragedy occurred during a mid-semester examination on September 18. Initial public communications from the institute alleged that Sahil was found using a mobile phone to access ChatGPT to solve exam questions. Sahil’s family has strongly contested this narrative, demanding tangible electronic proof of cheating and accusing the administration of attempting to divert attention from the caste harassment complaints.
IIT Bombay subsequently tendered an apology regarding its initial communication, conceding that it was improper to characterize the sequence of events publicly before official investigative agencies concluded their findings. While Professor Doolla was temporarily relieved of administrative obligations pending the ongoing inquiry, he continues to hold his professorship. The IIT Bombay Faculty Forum organized a campus demonstration backing Professor Doolla, maintaining that the invigilator was executing procedural duties to uphold academic honesty under Senate-sanctioned examination protocols.
Investigation Status and Legal Proceedings
The case was transferred to the Mumbai Police Crime Branch to ensure an expedited and comprehensive investigation. The registered FIR invokes provisions under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (abetment of suicide) alongside statutory clauses of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.