‘Let evidence decide’: Shehzad Poonawalla ‘stands with’ IIT Bombay's Professor Doolla at centre of student suicide
Former Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala expressed his support on Tuesday for Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay's professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who was suspended from his post of Dean (Student Affairs) on Monday amid an investigation into the death of 20-year-old student.
Poonawala said that he stands with Doolla and added that allegations against him cannot become “a verdict”.
“Caste angle can’t be injected to cover up for cheating. Villainising a teacher before the facts are established can permanently damage his reputation even if he is later cleared,” Poonawalla wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Also read: Who is Suryanarayana Doolla? IIT Bombay professor in focus in student suicide case
He added that the student's family “deserves answers” but the professor “deserves a fair hearing”.
“Let evidence decide but don’t presume guilt until proven innocent,” he added.
What happened?
IIT Bombay's Professor Suryanarayana Doolla was suspended on Monday with immediate effect amid probe into the death of 20-year-old second-year student in the campus, who allegedly died by suicide on September 18.
Also read: Why is IIT Bombay on boil? A suicide, protests, a professor in focus, divided faculty
On that day, Doolla was invigilating the mid-semester examination from 11 am to 1 pm and saw the student allegedly using a mobile phone during the examination. The student had allegedly uploaded the question paper to an AI platform to seek answers. Later in the day, the student from the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found dead. He allegedly died by suicide.
After that, the Mumbai Police filed an FIR against Doolla and other officials.
The student's family alleged that he was subjected to institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination before he took the extreme step.
Other IITs rally behind professor
The IIT faculty from campuses in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai have come forward in Professor Doolla's support, arguing that he was only discharging his duties.
The IIT-Bombay faculty members held a march in Doolla's support and the campus's Faculty Forum said that the Professor followed “Senate-approved exam procedure” when he reported the second year B Tech student for alleged phone use on September 18.
The IIT-Delhi Faculty Forum released a statement saying he was “simply discharging his duties”.
Meanwhile, the IIT-Madras's faculty body urged against publicly holding individuals responsible before the due process is completed.
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