IIT Bombay student had not approached SC/ST cell, says faculty forum chief

IIT Bombay Faculty Forum president Dr Rajkumar Pant said student Sahil Wakode had not approached the institute’s SC/ST cell with any complaint in recent months. He also defended former dean Suryanarayana Doolla, who faces allegations of harassment and caste discrimination

Mumbai: IIT Bombay Faculty Forum president Dr Rajkumar Pant has claimed that student Sahil Wakode, who allegedly died by suicide last week, had not approached the institute’s SC/ST cell with any complaint in the recent past.

His remarks came following allegations by Wakode’s family that he was subjected to systematic institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination.

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Dr Pant also backed his colleague Suryanarayana Doolla, who has been removed as dean of Administrative Affairs, saying he was generally helpful to students and not someone who would engage in harassment.

He also stressed that institute norms clearly forbid cheating and that ignoring the misuse of facilities would be unfair to students who follow the rules.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay on Monday removed Doolla as dean of Administrative Affairs following protests by students and political activists over Wakode’s suicide, which led to a case of abetment and caste discrimination being registered against him.

Wakode, 22, a second-year BTech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found hanging in his hostel room on the Powai campus on the evening of September 18, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone to access ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination, according to officials.

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 Wakode’s family.

Dr Pant said that, like every institute, IIT Bombay also has a dedicated SC/ST cell for the welfare of students from the community.

“I spoke to the institute’s Deputy Director, Professor Ravindra Gudi, about it, and he confirmed to me that the SC/ST cell issued a notice stating that there was absolutely no attempt by the late Sahil Wakode to approach the cell over the last three or four months. No complaint was recorded by him, forget about a formal complaint; he had not even approached the SC/ST cell for anything,” he said.

“Our only point is that we are teachers, and we are discharging our duties as mandated by the institute while following institute procedures,” he asserted.

Asked if Doolla had harassed Wakode, Dr Pant noted that his colleague had earlier served as the dean of Student Affairs.

“So, to expect that a person of his nature, who is known to be very helpful to students, would do this is unreasonable,” he stated.

“There are some situations where one has to act firmly, and he acted firmly as per the rules. But I am personally convinced that he is not the kind of person who would indulge in these kinds of acts… I see no merit in this claim,” he said.

Dr Pant also said society and institute norms make it clear that cheating will not be tolerated.

“Now, if a faculty member sees someone misusing facilities and resorting to unfair means, taking no action would be unfair to the majority of students who do not cheat,” he noted.

Dr Pant further said he did not want to comment on what had been reported. There is an FIR and the law will take its own course, he said.

“I think the Mumbai Crime Branch is investigating, so we have nothing to comment on that matter,” he added.