No Evidence Of Professor's Role In IIT Student's Suicide: Sources On Initial Probe

Initial investigation has found no concrete evidence to link an IIT Bombay professor in an abetment to suicide case on the campus, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. They said no conclusion has been reached, however, on the allegations, and investigators are examining all available evidence.

Sources said investigators of the Crime Branch have also not found any eyewitness or material that could confirm casteist remarks were allegedly made against Sahil Ravindra Wakode, the second-year BTech student who was found dead in his hostel room.

Earlier today, CCTV footage of the campus which the police have taken for analysis showed the professor and exam invigilator, Suryanarayana Doolla, telling the student to leave the exam hall after he was allegedly caught cheating.

Other CCTV cameras installed across the building captured him walking out of the exam hall and going to his room in the campus hostel.

The IIT Bombay Faculty Forum had expressed solidarity with Doolla, who has since been removed as dean of students welfare. He has not been suspended, but stepped down to ensure a fair investigation.

Wakode's family had alleged he was subjected to institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination on campus, due to which he died by suicide. They have filed a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, alleging discrimination.

Police sources said eyewitnesses told investigators that Doolla was assigned examination and supervision duty on the day the incident happened. During the exam, Doolla allegedly saw Wakode with a mobile phone and subsequently asked him to step outside the classroom, sources said.

Wakode was then taken to the office of the head of department, where another professor was also present, according to statements recorded by the police. The Crime Branch has questioned not only Doolla but also the two other professors who were present during the subsequent interaction with the student.

CCTV footage from the examination hall and other areas of the campus are being used to reconstruct the sequence of events. The Crime Branch said the investigation is still at an early stage.

A close friend of Wakode told NDTV yesterday that he strongly believes the allegations of casteism as reported in some sections of the media are not true. 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," the friend said.