IIT student suicide: Parents begin hunger strike, exams deferred

Mumbai: The parents of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode, whose alleged suicide has led to accusations of caste discrimination, Thursday began a hunger strike seeking action against their son’s ‘tormentors’ while the institute deferred its mid-semester examinations amid the controversy and reissued an apology over an earlier statement.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has spoken to Sahil’s parents and assured them all help in their fight to seek justice for their son, party sources said.

The institute postponed the mid-semester examinations scheduled for September 26-27 to October 10-11, an official said. It also reissued its apology over its earlier communication, which had indicated that Sahil died by suicide hours after allegedly being caught using ChatGPT in an exam.

Sahil’s parents Ravindra and Sonali Wakode began a hunger strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.

“Those who tortured my son should be put behind bars. He had told us that he repeatedly faced caste discrimination at the institute,” Ravindra said.

The couple earlier met the chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes in the city, and submitted a memorandum, seeking speedy investigation into their son’s death.

Police detained Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad, several workers of her party and NSUI activists gathered outside IIT Bombay to express solidarity with Sahil’s family. Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib demanded the immediate arrest of IIT Bombay director and another professor.

MP Gaikwad accused the ruling establishment of harming the education system and termed Sahil’s death an “institutional murder.” She demanded a comprehensive probe into the circumstances surrounding his death.

Students face humiliation and difficulties, especially if they belong to a particular caste or religion, she told reporters.

“This is not the first such incident at IIT. We want accountability,” Gaikwad said and accused the RSS of “infiltrating” higher education institutions. “The BJP and RSS have damaged the education system, and such incidents are happening repeatedly,” she alleged.

Sahil, 22, a second-year BTech student at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, was found hanging in his hostel room September 18 evening.

Varsha Gaikwad, other Congress workers and members of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the party’s students’ wing, gathered outside the institute’s Powai campus Thursday to stage a protest. Police detained Congress workers before their protest could begin, and later also took Gaikwad into custody when she reached the spot.

Rahul Gandhi spoke to Wakode’s parents and assured support in their fight for justice, she said. Gandhi made a video call to Wakode’s parents when they were on their way to Mumbai from Washim district, according to Gaikwad.

In the almost 17-minute call, Gandhi assured Sahil’s parents that he was with them and assured them all help, she said.

In a post on X, IIT Bombay said, “Sharing the earlier post of 21st Sept 2026 again: We apologise for the statements contained in our earlier communication concerning the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate demise of Sahil.

“The details and circumstances leading up to the incident remain subject to investigation by the appropriate authorities. In view of the ongoing investigation, it was inappropriate to have set out or characterised details relating to the events preceding his demise before they had been duly established through the appropriate investigative process,” it said.

The Mumbai Police Crime Branch is conducting a probe into Sahil’s death.

Faculty member Suryanarayan Doolla, named in the FIR which alleges abetment to suicide on grounds of caste discrimination, has been sent on leave to facilitate an impartial probe into the case.

Some TV channels aired CCTV footage from the examination hall that captured Sahil’s movements before a professor approached him and led him away from the hall after he was allegedly caught copying. However, there was no word from the police on this issue.

Meanwhile, an email purportedly sent in 2024 by Professor Doolla, then Dean of Student Affairs, has been circulating on social media.

In the email, Prof Doolla cautioned students against asking fellow students about their admission categories, JEE (Advanced) ranks or GATE scores, saying such questions could reveal their caste or whether they belonged to a reserved category.