Mumbai : The tragic suicide of an IIT Bombay student has led to serious allegations of caste-based discrimination and torture against a professor and the administration, prompting a police investigation and an FIR under the SC/ST Act.
The father of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode alleges caste-based discrimination and torture by a professor and administration led to his son's suicide.
Sahil Ravindra Wakode, a 22-year-old second-year BTech student, was found dead in his hostel room after allegedly being caught using a mobile phone during an exam.
A police complaint has been lodged, and an FIR registered against a professor for abetment of suicide and under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Sahil's father asserts his son was strong and would not commit suicide, claiming he was falsely accused and mocked by a professor.
IIT Bombay has removed Prof Suryanarayana Doolla from the post of Dean (student affairs) with immediate effect following the allegations.
The father of the 22-year-old Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay student who died by suicide has alleged that his only son was subjected to relentless caste-based mocking and torture by a professor and the administration.
Sahil Ravindra Wakode (22), a second-year BTech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his hostel room on IIT Bombay's Powai campus on Friday evening, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone during a mid-semester examination, according to officials.
Sahil's last rites were conducted at his hometown in Yavatmal on Sunday.
Allegations Of Caste-Based Harassment
Speaking to a news channel, Ravindra Wakode said that Sahil was brought up in extreme poverty and had managed to reach the premier institute.
IIT faculty members and officials from the administration had discriminated against Sahil on caste lines and falsely targeted him, he alleged, demanding a probe into their role in his son's death.
Ravindra Wakode asserted that his son was strong and was not someone who could commit suicide.
"The IIT Bombay administration tortured my son and discriminated against him on caste lines," he claimed.
Wakode alleged that his son would talk about a professor who would call him lower caste, torture and mock him with false accusations.
The concerned professor, whom he didn't identify, was supported by the institute's director, he claimed.
Police Investigation And Administrative Action
The Wakodes lodged a police complaint, following which the police on Saturday registered an FIR on charges of abetment of suicide under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
A professor has been named an accused in the case, which is being investigated by the Crime Branch.
IIT Bombay on Monday said Prof Suryanarayana Doolla has been removed from the post of Dean (student affairs) with immediate effect.
