The tragedy of a 22-year-old’s life ends in a hostel room in Powai, but the silence surrounding his final weeks is breaking. Ravindra Wakode, father of Sahil Wakode, the IIT-Bombay student found dead on September 18, admitted on Tuesday that Sahil had previously disclosed caste-based harassment. The professor now named in the FIR, Suryanarayana Doolla, allegedly made casteist remarks and threatened to implicate Sahil in a cheating case. “I told him it’s difficult to secure admission in IIT, and told him to bear it,” Ravindra said, his voice heavy with regret. “We as parents gave mental support to our child. Is that a mistake?”
The academic context surrounding Sahil’s death is fraught with controversy. Doolla was the invigilator when Sahil was allegedly caught using a mobile phone during a mid-semester examination. IIT-Bombay initially claimed Sahil uploaded the question paper to ChatGPT, a statement the institute later retracted as “inappropriate” given the ongoing police investigation. The institute’s faculty forum has rallied behind Doolla, while the student’s family alleges the professor’s actions constituted targeted abuse. Sahil, a Department of Energy Science and Engineering student, was found dead in Hostel Number 4. No suicide note was recovered, leading Powai Police to initially register an accidental death report before widening the case after the family’s formal complaint.
The legal landscape has shifted sharply. Powai Police registered an FIR under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (abetment of suicide) and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, recognizing Sahil as a Dalit. Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade confirmed that multiple individuals, including Doolla and IIT-Bombay Director Shireeh Kedare, are named in the complaint. Kedare has denied allegations of caste discrimination, and the institute maintains that Sahil never filed a formal complaint with its SC/ST Cell. The Mumbai Crime Branch is now investigating, with summonses expected for the professor and other witnesses.
The Wakode family’s grief is compounded by a demand for accountability that feels urgent. Sonali Wakode, a teacher herself, pleaded for justice, stating, “Please consider him your own child.” The family’s grandmother, Shyamlata Tayade, has called for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry, fearing institutional bias will obstruct justice. “Only after the arrests will everything come out,” Ravindra warned, anticipating that false allegations could be weaponized to deflect scrutiny from the alleged caste abuse. The next 48 hours will be critical as the Crime Branch moves to question Doolla and determine if the academic dispute crossed the line into criminal harassment.