The father of IIT Bombay student claims caste based discrimination against professors and administrators

The father of the 22-year-old Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay student who committed himself has claimed that the administration and a professor tormented and ridiculed his only son on the basis of caste.

Hours after being allegedly caught using a cell phone during a mid-semester exam, Sahil Ravindra Wakode (22), a second-year BTech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was discovered hanging from the ceiling fan in his hostel room on the Powai campus of IIT Bombay on Friday nite, according to officials. On Sunday, Sahil’s final ceremonies were held in Yavatmal, his hometown.

According to Ravindra Wakode, who spoke to a TV program, Sahil was raised in abject poverty yet was able to get into the top school. Sahil said that IIT professors and administration officials had wrongly targeted him and discriminated against him based on caste, and he demanded an investigation into their involvement in his son’s demise.

After the Wakodes filed a police report, the police on Saturday filed a formal case (FIR) alleging abetment of suicide in accordance with the provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The Crime Branch is looking into the situation, and one of the suspects is a professor.

According to Ravindra Wakode, his kid was strong and incapable of taking his own life. “The IIT Bombay administration tortured my son and discriminated against him on caste lines,” he claimed. Wakode claimed that his kid would talk about a professor who would make fun of him with bogus accusations, call him lower caste, and abuse him.

He said that the director of the institute supported the concerned professor, whom he did not name. According to Shyamlata Tayade, Sahil’s grandmother, he was a very intelligent kid who had always done well in school and had aspirations of creating a future inspired by former president APJ Abdul Kalam.

“Sahil was a very bright student. Our child cannot die by suicide. He has been subjected to injustice by the college.,” she said. “Our child cannot do anything wrong. He is a boy who worked very hard to get into IIT. All the children were studying by looking up to him.”

“Since childhood, he used to come first in every class. He studied very well in his first year as well, and this year was also going very well,” Sahil’s grandmother told NDTV. “Before going to college, he came to us to seek our blessings. He told us that when he returned, he would guide children here like him. He wanted all the children to go to IIT. Sahil’s idol was APJ Abdul Kalam. He wanted to become like Abdul Kalam.”

Earlier today, IIT-Bombay issued an apology regarding its previous statements on Sahil’s death, acknowledging that details remain under investigation. Following protests, Prof Suryanarayana Doolla was removed as Dean of Student Affairs. Students have been demanding changes including representation in academic committees and investigations into suicides on campus.

Increased security measures are in place with police deployed around the institute. Criticism from students and alumni highlights systemic issues, including arbitrary disciplinary actions and inadequate mental health support, alongside claims of a lack of caste sensitization. Allegations suggest past statements aimed to protect faculty rather than address underlying problems.