IIT Bombay faculty member booked for caste abuse, suicide abetment

The student's father alleged that the professor was responsible for driving his son to take his own life. He alleged his son faced caste-based abuse, threats and harassment at the campus for three months before his death.
Police personnel stand guard as students protest following the death of a 22-year-old IIT Bombay student at the Powai campus in Mumbai on September 19, 2026
Police personnel stand guard as students protest following the death of a 22-year-old IIT Bombay student at the Powai campus in Mumbai on September 19, 2026Photo |PTI
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MUMBAI: An IIT-Bombay professor was on Sunday booked for abetment of suicide over the death of a second-year engineering student on the campus.

Sahil Ravindra Wakode was found dead at the Powai campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay on Friday evening, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone and ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination.

Professor Suryanarayan Dulla and two other unnamed persons were booked on Sunday.

Sahil’s father alleged that the professor was responsible for driving his son to take his own life. He alleged Sahil faced caste-based abuse, threats and harassment at the campus for three months before his death.

A case of abetment of suicide and joint liability has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. A case has also been registered under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 for intentionally insulting or intimidating a person with intent to humiliate a member of a SC/ST community. The case was registered based on a complaint filed by Sahil’s father.

Meanwhile, a video of IIT-Bombay director Shireesh B Kedare has gone viral on social media, in which he is seen announcing his resignation.

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