Police have recorded the statements of 20 people, including students and staff members, as part of the investigation into the alleged suicide of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode, officials said on Friday.
Investigators are also trying to access call logs and messages from Wakode’s mobile phone, they said.
According to preliminary information, 22-year-old Wakode, a student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, went directly to his hostel room after leaving an examination hall on September 18. When he did not emerge by around 7 pm, the door was opened and he was found dead inside.
Those questioned include students who were in the examination hall with Wakode, as well as invigilators and administrative officials of the institute.
Police said Wakode’s mobile phone was secured with a pattern lock, preventing immediate access to his call logs and messages. However, several missed-call notifications were visible on the screen. Forensic teams are working to gain access to the device, officials said.
IIT Bombay faculty member Suryanarayan Doolla, who was named in an FIR alleging abetment to suicide over caste discrimination, has been sent on leave to facilitate an impartial investigation.
Wakode’s parents, Ravindra and Sonali Wakode, began a hunger strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Thursday. They have alleged that their son repeatedly faced caste discrimination at the institute and demanded action against those they described as his “tormentors”.
Meanwhile, IIT Bombay has apologised twice over its earlier communication stating that Wakode had died by suicide hours after allegedly being caught using ChatGPT during an examination.
Some television channels aired CCTV footage from the examination hall showing Wakode’s movements before a professor approached him and escorted him from the hall after he was allegedly caught copying. Police have not commented on the matter.
Investigators said they are examining CCTV footage and statements recorded so far to reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to Wakode’s death.
Further investigation is underway, police said.
(With inputs from PTI)