'He told us about casteism, harassment': Parents of IIT Bombay student who died by suicide

The mother of 20-year-old student of Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay who allegedly died by suicide said on Tuesday that he had informed them of facing “torture” and “casteism”.

She added that she has full faith in the administration and Constitution and believes that her son “will get justice”.

"Sahil had informed us that he was facing torture and casteist slurs. We kept telling him that our future is going to be very good. Perhaps that was our mistake. If we had taken him with us that day, my child would have been alive today," she said, as quoted by news agency PTI

The father of the student alleged that the claim of his son cheating in an exam on the same day he was found dead was an attempt to divert attention. “The accused in the case should be questioned and arrested. Only after the arrest will everything come out,” he said.

Also read: ‘Let evidence decide’: Shehzad Poonawalla ‘stands with’ IIT Bombay's Professor Doolla at centre of student suicide

"Sahil was a bright student. Cracking the JEE Advanced exam is not an ordinary achievement. Look at his All India rank," he added.

The remarks made by the student's parents come amid outrage over the issue as probe goes on. Heavy security has been deployed around the IIT Bombay campus.

The student allegedly died by suicide on Friday and an FIR was registered in the incident and the investigation was transferred to the Mumbai Crime Branch, led by an assistant commissioner of police (ACP)-level officer.

The parents of the student alleged caste-based discrimination and pressure on their son in the campus, said police on Saturday. They also protested at the institute’s campus on Saturday morning, demanding action in the case.

According to police, they were taken to Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar around 1.30 pm on Saturday, where the student’s body was kept. However they initially refused to claim the body until they eventually did after a thorough investigation into the matter was promised, police said.

The student allegedly died by suicide on Friday in his hostel after he was allegedly caught cheating during an examination. However, no suicide note was found from the spot, police said.

Also read: Why is IIT Bombay on boil? A suicide, protests, a professor in focus, divided faculty

Professor who ‘caught’ student cheating suspended

IIT Bombay's former Dean of Administrative Affairs, Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, was suspended from deanship with immediate effect amid the probe into the student suicide, the institute's director said on Monday.

On Sept 18, 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.

The FIR filed based on the parents’ complaint named Doolla and other officials, and invoked Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.