National Commission for Scheduled Castes Chairman Conducts Spot Inquiry at IIT Bombay Over Student Sahil Wakode's Death

Mumbai: Kishor Makwana, Chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC), on Thursday conducted a detailed on-site inquiry at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay into the death of Sahil Wakode, a second-year B.Tech student from the Scheduled Caste community in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering.

The visit followed serious allegations by the deceased student’s family of caste-based discrimination and harassment in the events leading up to his death. The case is currently under investigation by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch.

During the visit, Makwana held extensive discussions with senior IIT Bombay officials, including the Director, Deputy Director, Registrar, concerned faculty members and other institute authorities. The Commission sought a detailed account of the sequence of events preceding the student’s death, with particular focus on an incident during the mid-semester examination on 18 September 2026, in which the student was alleged to have been involved in academic malpractice.

Sahil Wakode died by suicide on 18 September. His family has alleged harassment and caste-based discrimination, while the institute has stated that the examination-related incident is under investigation.

A CCTV clip purportedly from an examination hall at the institute, timestamped 18 September at 12:37 pm, has circulated on social media. It shows a student in the front row leaving the hall while others continue the test. The identity of the student cannot be independently verified from the footage, though some social media accounts claim it is Sahil Wakode.

According to a preliminary investigation by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch, CCTV cameras recorded Sahil’s movements inside the examination hall between 12:30 pm and 12:45 pm on 18 September. With about 15 minutes remaining in the examination, he was seen bending down to look at something kept in his pocket. A professor then questioned him and took him aside, away from the other students.

“After leaving the examination hall, Sahil moved across the campus. He reached his hostel room at approximately 1:25 PM. He did not step out of the room thereafter,” a Crime Branch official said.

The probe is being handled by an ACP-rank officer under the supervision of the DCP (Detection-I), Crime Branch. Police have appealed to the public to refrain from speculation and premature conclusions.

IIT Bombay has constituted a 10-member committee to examine the circumstances surrounding Sahil’s death. Professor Suryanarayan Doolla, who was the invigilator and against whom the family has levelled allegations, has been relieved of his administrative responsibilities and placed on leave pending the inquiry.

In a statement that was later retracted, the institute had earlier claimed that Sahil was caught cheating during the examination and was counselled by Professor Doolla.

Several present and former colleagues have expressed support for Professor Doolla. Former IIT Bombay Board of Governors Chairman Sharad Kumar Saraf said, “Professor Doolla is totally innocent. There is no iota of evidence against him, and still he is being mentally tortured and treated like a criminal, which is very offensive. In fact, it is very shameful and very bad. I have known Professor Doolla. During my tenure as Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT, he was the Dean of Students’ Affairs, one of the most upright professors that we have, a highly decorated, award-winning professor. And he took a lot of initiatives for the well-being of the students. And never, ever in his career was there a case of any discrimination or caste or anything. Even in this present case also. There was never any discussion about caste. Now suddenly his parents have started raising this issue two days after his death, which is very unfortunate.”

The investigations by the police and the institute committee are ongoing.