IIT Bombay Professor Sent on Leave in Sahil Wakode Case

• Professor Suryanarayana Doolla has been sent on leave.
• A case alleges abetment and caste discrimination against him.
• Sahil Wakode was found dead in his hostel room on September 18.
• IIT Bombay has withdrawn its earlier account about ChatGPT use.

GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 23rd Sept: IIT Bombay Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who has been named in a case concerning the alleged suicide of 22-year-old student Sahil Wakode, has been sent on leave, sources said on Wednesday.

A case has been registered against Doolla on allegations of abetment and caste discrimination. He is also expected to appear before the police on Wednesday for questioning.

Doolla was earlier removed as the Dean of Administrative Affairs on Monday following protests by students over Wakode’s death.

Wakode, a 22-year-old second-year BTech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found hanging in his hostel room on the evening of September 18. The incident occurred hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone to access ChatGPT during an examination, according to the earlier account from IIT Bombay.

Wakode’s family, however, has disputed the institute’s initial account and raised allegations of caste-based harassment.

His mother, Sonali Wakode, has alleged that her son had told the family he was being tortured, abused and humiliated because of his caste. She claimed that Sahil specifically told them that Professor Doolla had made remarks contrasting his own caste status with that of the student.

According to Sonali Wakode, the alleged harassment had continued for around three months. She also said that when the family met Sahil in his hostel room on September 13, he told them that he was being subjected to torture and abuse.

The allegations are part of the ongoing police investigation and have not been established in court.

Faculty forum raises separate point
IIT Bombay Faculty Forum president Rajkumar Pant said Sahil had not approached the institute’s SC/ST cell with any complaint in the recent past.

The family has also questioned IIT Bombay’s initial statement that Sahil had been caught using ChatGPT during his mid-semester examination.

Sonali Wakode said allegations of cheating should be supported by evidence and questioned the basis of the institute’s initial claim.

IIT Bombay withdraws earlier account
IIT Bombay subsequently revised its earlier communication regarding the circumstances preceding Sahil’s death.

In a statement issued on Monday, the institute apologised for its earlier remarks and said that the details surrounding the student’s death remained subject to investigation by the appropriate authorities.

The institute said it was inappropriate to present or characterise details relating to the events preceding Sahil’s death before those details had been established through the appropriate investigative process.

The latest developments come amid student protests and wider calls for accountability at IIT Bombay following Wakode’s death.