IIT Bombay’s Board of Governors has ordered Professor Suryanarayanan Doolla to go on leave as scrutiny grows over the death of the 22-year-old student enrolled in the BTech course, Sahil Wakode. Moreover, the Board has also constituted a high-level committee comprising 10 members to delve into the circumstances and events which preceded Wakode’s death. 

The panel has been provided a time period of 10 days to submit its report, as pressure mounts on the institute after three days of student protests and demands for accountability. 

Professor Doolla faces scrutiny amid probe

The latest development has surfaced days after faculty members at the institute extended their support to Professor Doolla, who had caught Wakode for allegedly using a cell phone and uploading the exam’s question paper to ChatGPT in a bid to seek answers to the mid-semester test. 

Earlier, the institute said that no disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against Wakode and that the incident would not hamper his academic or professional career. However, Wakode’s death on September 18 kicked up a row, and has triggered renewed questions over the circumstances surrounding the examination incident and the events that followed. 

Sources privy to the development said that the Mumbai Crime Branch has summoned Professor Doolla for interrogation as part of the probe. The development emerged a day after the investigating police personnel recorded statements from Wakode’s parents. 

Doolla, meanwhile, has also been removed from the post of Dean of Administrative Affairs after agitations by students and political activists. Meanwhile, a case pertaining to abetment of suicide and SC/ST Act has also been registered against him. 

Alumni Assn voices demands for fair and speedy probe

The IIT Bombay alumni association (IITBAA) has called for a fair, transparent and a speedy probe, while issuing warnings against speculation and what it called a ‘media trial’ targeting people. 

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the association asserted that IIT Bombay was passing through an ‘extremely difficult period’ and emphasised that students, faculty members and staffers deserved an equitable, inclusive, safe and supportive milieu. 

The association said, “We fully support a fair, transparent, and speedy investigation into this tragic event, and urge that all procedures be conducted with complete fairness and without prejudice.” 

It also pleaded with the people against online speculation, media trials or nasty conclusions directed at any person. 

Continuing its statements, the association said it was ready to work in consonance with the institute to ramp up mental health resources, support well-being of the people on the campus and help rebuild trust within the IIT Bombay community. 

What kicked up a row at IIT Bombay?

The latest row erupted at IIT Bombay after Sahil Wakode, a second-year BTech student enrolled in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found hanging inside his hostel room on the evening of September 18. His death unfolded hours after he was allegedly caught using a cell phone to access ChatGPT during the institute’s mid-semester exams. 

His parents have called for the immediate arrest of the Director of the institute, Professor Shirish Kedare and Professor Doolla. The probe into the case is currently underway, the police said.