Mumbai, Sept 23 (INB) The Indian Institute of Technology IIT Bombay on Thursday reiterated apology for statements made in an earlier communication concerning the circumstances surrounding the death of student Sahil, saying the matter remains under investigation by the appropriate authorities.
The institute said it was inappropriate to set out or characterise details relating to events preceding the student’s death before they had been established through the appropriate investigative process. It had issued this apology first on September 21 and posted on online platforms like X and LinkedIn again on Thursday. “The details and circumstances leading up to the incident remain subject to investigation by the appropriate authorities,” IIT Bombay said, adding that it apologised for its earlier statements. The institute’s clarification came amid protests following the student’s death and demands from students for action and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident. The police investigation into the case which involves claims of casteism is ongoing. In its September 19 statement, IIT Bombay had said the second-year student was found using a mobile phone during an examination and had uploaded the question paper to ChatGPT. It said no disciplinary action was initiated and the student was counselled. The institute later apologised for characterising these circumstances before investigation. “It was inappropriate to have set out or characterised details… before they had been duly established.” Sahil Wakode, a B Tech student at IIT Bombay, was found hanging in his hostel room on the evening of September 18, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone to access ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination. His parents, Ravindra Wakode and his wife, later alleged that Sahil had told them about caste-based slurs he faced. An FIR was registered alleging abetment to suicide on grounds of caste discrimination, naming IIT Bombay faculty member Suryanarayan Doolla. His parents demanded the arrest of Doolla and IIT Bombay Director Shirish Kedare. Doolla was removed as Dean of Administrative Affairs following protests. The Mumbai Police Crime Branch, which is probing the death, said it was conducting the investigation “diligently and impartially” and exploring all possible angles, while appealing against speculation and premature conclusions. On September 23, IIT Bombay’s Board constituted a 10-member high-level committee to probe the circumstances surrounding Sahil’s death. An official said the panel was likely to question Doolla, who was also sent on leave to facilitate an impartial probe. The move came as television channels aired CCTV footage from the examination hall purportedly showing Sahil’s movements before a professor approached him and led him away after he was allegedly caught copying. The Crime Branch did not comment on the footage. Sahil’s father said he would begin a hunger strike if the IIT Bombay officials named in the FIR were not arrested. MNS president Raj Thackeray attributed the death to flaws in the education system and said caste should not become a subject through which students are drawn into “power politics”. The ABVP demanded a thorough investigation, with its national general secretary Virendra Singh Solanki saying action should be taken against whoever is found responsible after the facts are established.
