Days after a 22-year-old student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay was found dead in his hostel room, his parents have demanded the arrest of a faculty member and the institute’s director, alleging that their son had been threatened and subjected to casteist abuse.
Sahil Wakode, a second-year Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found dead on Friday (September 18, 2026). The next day, the Powai police registered a first information report (FIR) under charges including abetment of suicide and sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The FIR, filed on the basis of a complaint by the student’s father, Ravindra Wakode, named faculty member Suryanarayana Doolla. Subsequently, the investigation was handed over to the Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday (September 22, 2026), Mr. Wakode said his son had told him that Mr. Doolla allegedly used casteist slurs against him for three months and that the faculty member threatened to implicate him in false cases. According to the father, his son further alleged that the faculty member was acting on the instructions of the director of the institute.
The student’s mother, Sonali Wakode, said that on September 18, she received a call from the IIT, asking her to come to the institute. After some time, the Powai police called and told her that her son had died by suicide. The police asked her to come to Mumbai, and the family reached there on the morning of September 19, said Ms. Wakode, a schoolteacher.
The family lives in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district. Sahil Wakode studied up to Class 12 in Yavatmal before joining the Department of Energy Science in IIT-Bombay.
A visit on September 13
According to Ms. Wakode, the family had visited their son on September 13, when he told them about the alleged harassment that he was facing.
“Please give justice to my son. Please ensure justice for the atrocities committed against him. Why is it that Dalit students are the ones committing suicide? We supported him mentally, telling him, ‘Your future is bright, son; just endure this.’ That was our mistake. If we had taken him away that day, my child would be alive today,” she said.
She expressed confidence that the Crime Branch would ensure that justice is done. She also said that during their visit, her son had told them that he was being “tortured” and that he was facing casteist slurs. “We offered him moral support. That was a mistake on our part. I earnestly request you to ensure my child gets justice,” she said.
The institution’s administration has said that Sahil Wakode was caught using ChatGPT in an examination. CCTV footage shows the student being taken out of the classroom where the exam was happening. The footage shows Mr. Doolla asking him some questions and then taking him to one side, away from other students. After this, Wakode was seen outside the examination hall and subsequently entering his hostel at around 1:25 p.m. Later, he was found dead in his room.
On Monday (September 21, 2026), a Crime Branch team searched Wakode’s hostel room and conducted a panchnama. Officials said no note has been recovered and that no one has been summoned in the investigation. In the initial days of the probe, the Crime Branch team will collect documents from the police in Powai, where the FIR was initially registered, an official said, adding that the team has seized CCTV footage and other materials.
Protests and detentions
Meanwhile, the police on Tuesday detained dozens of activists belonging to the Republican Party of India (A) and Bharat Mukti Morcha after they staged a protest outside the IIT-Bombay main gate over the death of Wakode, an official said. The protesters, carrying placards and shouting slogans, demanded justice for the deceased student and sought the resignation of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
A senior police officer said the protesters from the Bharat Mukti Morcha gathered outside the main campus gate without permission and were immediately removed from the spot, taken into preventive custody, and brought to the Powai police station for further legal proceedings. Shortly after, workers of the Ramdas Athawale-led Republican Party of India (A) also assembled near the gate, shouting slogans in support of Wakode. Police personnel moved in swiftly to clear the area and detained them as well, the officer said.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416. and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050).
Published – September 22, 2026 05:19 pm IST
