"Why Not Arrest Them?" IIT Bombay Student's Father On Accused Professors

IIT Bombay student Sahil Wokade last met his parents on September 13. He called back a few days later to complain that he was being subjected to caste slurs and being discriminated against. Be patient, wait it out, his father advised him, pointing at the big, bright future that lay ahead of him.

Five days later, on September 18, the 22-year-old second year student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, from Maharashtra's Yavatmal district, was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his hostel room on the Powai campus.

"We spoke over the phone. He was crying and saying he was being tortured in the name of casteism. I tried to calm him down, telling him to ignore it as his future would be bright, and we moved on. But then I learned he had died by suicide. Since he had named the individuals responsible, I filed a case against them under the Atrocities Act. An FIR has been registered," Ravindra Wokade, Sahil's father, told NDTV in an interview.

Earlier on Tuesday, Sahil's parents, Ravindra and Sonali Wakode, visited the Mumbai Crime Branch, demanding the immediate arrest of named faculty members Professor Suryanarayana Doolla and Shireesh Kedare.

Read: IIT Bombay Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, At Centre Of Student's Suicide Row, Sent On Leave

Faculty member Suryanarayan Doolla has been named in the FIR in the case, which alleges abetment to suicide on grounds of caste discrimination. He has been charged under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The student's death case was transferred to the Crime Branch on September 19 for further probe following widespread student protests on campus.

IIT Bombay on Monday removed Suryanarayana Doolla as the dean of Administrative Affairs following protests by students and political activists over Sahil's alleged suicide.

"We have all the evidence, so why are they not arresting them?" Ravindra Wokade questioned.

#NewsNight with @SehgalRahesha | "Why hasn't the professor been arrested yet?": Sahil Wakode's father alleges harrassment in the IIT Bombay suicide case pic.twitter.com/xxJuTpbnxn

— NDTV (@ndtv) September 22, 2026

Hundreds of students at IIT Bombay staged a demonstration on the institute's campus on Tuesday in support of Professor Suryanarayana Doolla.

IIT Bombay professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who has been named in connection with the alleged suicide of student Sahil Wakode

On Monday, IIT Bombay backtracked on its earlier statements, in which it claimed that Sahil cheated in an exam using ChatGPT, linking his death to it.

The institute issued a statement on X, withdrawing its comments about the suicide of the second-year student and apologised.

"We apologise for the statements contained in our earlier communication concerning the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate demise of Sahil. The details and circumstances leading up to the incident remain subject to investigation by the appropriate authorities," read the post.

It further stated, "In view of the ongoing investigation, it was inappropriate to have set out or characterised details relating to the events preceding his demise before they had been duly established through the appropriate investigative process."

Sahil Wokade, the 22-year-old second-year student at IIT Bombay, who was found dead at his campus hostel room

The victim's father spotlighted how the IIT backtracked from its earlier statement about cheating, asking what more proof does one need.

"They accuse him of cheating and later apologise, saying no such cheating actually took place. What are we supposed to make of this?" Sahil's father said.

IIT Bombay Faculty Forum president Professor Dr Rajkumar S Pant said that the institute has a functional SC/ST Cell for students from the concerned communities to raise complaints and grievances, but Sahil Wakode had not approached the cell with any allegation against any professor.

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