Mumbai:
A close friend of the IIT Bombay student whose alleged death by suicide has sparked a protest on campus told NDTV today that he strongly believes that the allegations of casteism as reported in some sections of the media are not true.
Sahil Ravindra Wakode, who was in second-year BTech, was found dead on Friday last in his hostel room on the IIT Bombay campus, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone and ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination.
Wakode’s friend told NDTV that no one ever noticed anything odd about him or even remotely thought he would die by suicide. He said Wakode met him four-five days before the exam and everything seemed fine.
“I met him four-five days before the exam. He was the normal Sahil. Fun guy, cool guy, very happy,” the friend, Yatish Kumar, said.
On what exactly happened on exam day, the student said his friend was “caught cheating”. “The professor took him outside the room. The institute said the DAC (disciplinary action committee) was not imposed on him. I don’t know what happened after that.”
He remembers Wakode fondly from the time they had just entered the campus in their first year. “He was in the room right next to me when I was in my first year. He was one of my first friends. I played badminton with him,” the second-year student of aerospace engineering told NDTV.
He said he does not have the exact details about what happened that day since his friend was from another department.
Wakode’s family has alleged he was subjected to institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination on campus, due to which he died by suicide. The parents have filed a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, alleging discrimination.
His friend told NDTV, however, that “casteism” did not seem to be an issue at all. “I don’t think casteism was an issue. I mean I have never experienced it,” the student said.
He said the real problem lies somewhere else, beginning with the immense pressure every student faces. “Cheating is bad. But while punishing you have to know the mental state of the student and talk.”
“We all miss him,” he said. “The entire college miss Sahil. I mean, it’s not normal, losing a friend like this.”
Earlier today, IIT Bombay apologised for what it called “statements contained in our earlier communication concerning the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate demise of Sahil.”
It also denied reports that IIT Bombay Director Shirish Kedar would resign.
The IIT Bombay Faculty Forum expressed solidarity with exam invigilator Suryanarayana Doolla, who has since been removed as dean of students welfare, pointing out that he was following institutional protocol after discovering the student was in “unauthorised possession and use of a smartphone.”
The administration’s apology came after officials met the protesting students to look into their 18 demands that include ensuring student representation in academic committees, independent investigation into four cases of death by suicide on campus and mental health workshops for professors, among other demands.
