THE IIT-Bombay on Monday removed Suryanarayana Doolla as the dean of Administrative Affairs following protests by students and political activists over the suicide of a 22-year-old student, which led to a case of abetment and caste discrimination registered against him. The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay also issued a public apology for its earlier communication that characterised the events preceding the death of the student, Sahil Wakode, before a detailed inquiry was completed. Wakode, a second-year B.Tech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering hailing from Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, was found hanging in his hostel room on the Powai campus on Friday evening, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone to access ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination. In an email to students, IIT Bombay Director Shireesh Kedare confirmed the removal of Doolla, who previously served as the Dean of Student Affairs, from the current post. Doolla, who is a professor, continues to remain in the faculty. “In view of the ongoing investigation, it was inappropriate to have set out or characterised details relating to the events preceding Sahil’s demise before they had been duly established through the appropriate investigative process,” the institute said in its statement on Monday, retracting its earlier assertion that Sahil was caught cheating but faced no disciplinary action. However, student groups expressed dissatisfaction with the move, demanding his suspension as a faculty member.

 

On Monday evening, the faculty members held a march in the institute’s campus to support Doolla. The Faculty Forum said that he followed “Senateapproved exam procedure” when he reported the student for alleged phone use on September 18. The Mumbai Police have booked Doolla under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, following a complaint lodged by Sahil’s family. Sahil’s family alleged that he was subjected to systematic institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination. “He was our only son. We reached this stage after immense struggle and now they have finished him. The staff harassed him using casteism. I want justice,” said his father, Ravindra Wakode, demanding a comprehensive probe into the administration’s role. Defending Doolla, the forum issued a statement, noting his key role in launching several student welfare initiatives during his tenure as Dean of Student Affairs. “We are distressed by the vilification of our colleague’s reputation through false and misleading media reports,” the forum stated. The decision to remove Doolla as dean of Administrative Affairs failed to impress the protesting students, who said they had sought his suspension as a professor and not merely his removal from an administrative position. Sahil’s father Ravindra Wakode claimed that his son was mocked, tortured and discriminated on caste lines and demanded probe into the role of the IIT Bombay administration in his son’s death.