Parents of IIT Bombay Student Keep Protest Alive Seeking Justice After Son’s Death

Ravindra and Sonali Wakode sat on the ground in Mumbai this week, holding their son’s photograph. The signs they carried asked for justice. Their son Sahil, a second-year B.Tech student in Energy Science and Engineering at IIT Bombay, was found dead in his hostel room on the evening of September 18. That same afternoon, invigilators had stopped him during a mid-semester exam. He had a mobile phone with him. Officials later said the phone was used to look up answers on an AI tool. The institute said at the time that no formal action had been started against him. The parents reached the campus soon after the news broke. They would not claim Sahil’s body until the police registered a case. They told officers that their son had spoken about caste-based remarks and pressure from a faculty member for about three months. An FIR was filed on the father’s complaint. It names Professor Suryanarayana Doolla and others under sections dealing with abetment of suicide and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The case is now with the Mumbai Police Crime Branch. Professor Doolla was one of the invigilators on the day of the exam. He has been removed from his post as dean. IIT Bombay has formed a committee to look into the circumstances of the death. The institute has also said it regrets the way it first communicated the news. Students on campus held protests in the days that followed. They asked for better mental health help, clearer rules when a student faces academic trouble, and more care around caste issues. The next round of mid-semester exams was postponed. Many families who send their children to IITs watch cases like this closely. The entrance exam itself is tough. The coursework is demanding. A single setback can hit hard. When a student also reports feeling targeted because of caste, the questions grow louder. Parents want to know if their child will find someone to talk to. Students want to know the process will be fair if something goes wrong. The Wakode family has kept up their protest. They have met officials and handed over written requests. They say Sahil spoke to them about the alleged harassment when they visited him. They believe the pressure became too much. The investigation is still going on. Whatever the final findings, the episode has already made many people on campuses and outside them think harder about how institutes handle both academic rules and the students who live under them.