Mumbai Crime Branch to Investigate Alleged Suicide Case of IIT Bombay Second-Year Student

Mumbai: The Mumbai Police has officially transferred the case of the alleged suicide of a second-year BTech student at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay to the Mumbai Police Crime Branch. The student allegedly died by suicide on Friday evening. 

The deceased's father filed a formal police complaint making grave allegations against campus authorities. Following the complaint, the Mumbai Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) naming IIT Bombay professor and exam invigilator Suryanarayan Dulla.

The father of the deceased student levelled serious allegations of harassment in the complaint, saying that the professor hurled casteist slurs at the student over the last three months. A case has been registered against Dulla.

The Mumbai Crime Branch will now investigate the case. Meanwhile, the IIT Bombay Faculty Forum has expressed solidarity with exam invigilator Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, stating he was following institutional protocol after discovering that the student was in “unauthorised possession and use of a smartphone.”

"We strongly express our solidarity with our colleague Prof Suryanarayana Doolla, who was discharging his duties in line with the institute’s Senate-approved academic policies currently in force," the forum said in the statement, while offering deepest condolences to the family of the student.

Earlier, IIT Bombay said the student, from the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found using a mobile phone in the exam hall and had uploaded the question paper on ChatGPT to seek answers. No disciplinary action was initiated against him, the institute said in a statement. 

The forum said Prof Doolla, the course instructor, was invigilating the mid-semester examination from 11 am to 1 pm on September 18, when he saw a student using a smartphone without authorisation, which it termed "academic malpractice." 

The forum said, “As part of the institute-approved procedure, he reported the incident to institute authorities for further action in the matter. The Faculty Forum of IIT Bombay is absolutely distressed with the tarnishing of the reputation of our colleague Prof. Suryanarayana Doolla, who was merely discharging his academic duties, and following the institute-approved procedures.”

The institute had earlier said that the instructor and the Head of the Department counselled the student and assured him the incident would not adversely affect his academic career. "The student subsequently returned to his hostel room. Later in the evening, he was found dead in his room. He then returned to his hostel room, where he was found dead in the evening," the institute said. 

"IIT Bombay is deeply saddened by the loss of a student. The Institute is extending support to the student's friends, classmates, faculty members, and others affected by this tragic incident," it said, adding that the circumstances are being looked into by the appropriate authorities.

Earlier, students at IIT Bombay held a late-night protest following the death of the second-year student. Students demanded accountability and transparency from the institute's administration. Police had deployed personnel on campus to control the situation as discussions were held between students and the administration. 

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