KC Venugopal, Congress general secretary (organisation), slammed the Modi government for allegedly hiding data on 53 IIT suicides recorded between 2020 and 2024, with more than half involving SC, ST, and OBC students. He posted the claim on X, calling the omission a "most glaring example of how this regime perpetuates social injustice and hides the truth from its own people."
The complaint follows an under secretary's letter to IITs dated December 1, which the ministry allegedly omitted suicide statistics from, according to Venugopal. The letter was sent to all IITs, yet the ministry chose to exclude the figures from the official summary.
The controversy was sparked by the death of 22‑year‑old Sahil Wakode, a second‑year B‑Tech student at IIT Bombay, who was found hanging on September 18 after a mid‑semester exam. Mumbai Police Crime Branch is analysing CCTV footage from the exam hall and hostel, while parents claim their son faced casteist slurs and humiliation.
IIT Bombay’s faculty forum has already ousted Dean Suryanarayana Doolla and registered an abetment case against him. Parents of the deceased demand a thorough investigation, and students have staged protests demanding accountability.
Venugopal has tabled a parliamentary question for December 8, 2025, demanding the ministry disclose the excluded data and a concrete plan to tackle the crisis among marginalized students. The ministry is scheduled to respond in that session, setting the stage for a potential policy overhaul.