IIT Bombay has suspended Professor Suryanarayana Doolla from his duties, sending him on leave after police registered a case charging him with abetment to suicide and caste discrimination. Doolla was already stripped of his position as Dean of Administrative Affairs on Monday following fierce protests by students demanding accountability. He is expected to appear before the police today to answer to the charges.
The incident centers on Sahil Wakode, 22, a second-year B.Tech student in Energy Science and Engineering, who was found hanging in his hostel room on the evening of September 18. His death occurred hours after the institute initially claimed he had been caught using a mobile phone to access ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination. That narrative, however, collapsed under scrutiny and family testimony.
Sahil’s mother, Sonali Wakode, disputed the cheating allegation entirely, stating that her son had been subjected to months of abuse based on his caste. "He specifically told us that Professor Suryanarayana Doolla would say, 'I am from an upper caste and you are from a lower caste,'" she told reporters. She noted that when they visited their son in his hostel room on September 13, he disclosed the ongoing torture and humiliation, a claim the family says persisted for approximately three months.
On Monday, IIT Bombay issued a statement retracting its earlier comments. "We apologise for the statements contained in our earlier communication concerning the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate demise of Sahil," the institute said. It added that characterizing the events preceding the death before an investigative process was complete was inappropriate. Rajkumar Pant, president of the IIT Bombay Faculty Forum, noted that Sahil had not filed a formal complaint with the institute’s SC/ST cell recently, but the family maintains the abuse was systemic and severe.
The police investigation is now the sole authority determining the facts. Doolla’s appearance before the police today will be the first formal step in the legal process, with further developments expected as forensic and digital evidence is examined.