Behind IIT Bombay Student Death: Ex-Dean's Old Email Barring Caste Inquiries
The tragic death of 20-year-old undergraduate student Sahil Wakode at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has reignited deep scrutiny over campus culture and institutional safeguards in premier educational institutes. As the deceased student's family raises serious allegations of caste-based discrimination, an official communication issued in 2024 by Professor Suryanarayan Doolla—who served as the Dean of Student Affairs at the time—has resurfaced in public discourse. The advisory explicitly cautioned the student community against subtle inquiry methods, such as probing peers about entrance exam scores or admission quotas, pointing out that such behavior perpetuates social divides and psychological distress.
The Resurfaced Advisory: Barring Rank and Category Probing
In the formal advisory sent during his tenure as Dean of Student Affairs, Professor Doolla had directed students, faculty, and administrative staff to strictly refrain from asking peers about their birth category, JEE Advanced rank, or GATE score. The directive explained that while inquiries about scores might appear harmless or driven by casual curiosity to the person asking, they function in practice as a proxy to uncover an individual's caste identity or reserved category background. The circular underscored that IIT Bombay is dedicated to sustaining an inclusive, egalitarian environment, urging students to form interpersonal bonds based on shared academic departments, sports, creative arts, and personal hobbies rather than academic entry metrics or social origin.
Zero-Tolerance Policy Against Harassment and Slurs
The resurfaced documentation further highlighted zero-tolerance regulations enforced across the Powai campus against discriminatory behavior, harassment, and digital bullying. The guidelines strictly prohibited the creation or forwarding of derogatory jokes, memes, or offensive commentary touching upon caste, gender, religion, or regional identities across digital channels—including WhatsApp groups, social platforms, and internal email threads—as well as in-person peer interactions. During Professor Doolla’s administrative tenure, the institute had reiterated formal anti-discrimination guidelines on multiple occasions to prevent social alienation among students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
The Exam Hall Incident and CCTV Investigation
The backdrop to the current unrest involves an incident on September 18, when Professor Doolla reportedly caught Wakode with a mobile phone during a semester examination. Later that day, the second-year student was found dead in his hostel room. While his grieving parents allege that he had shared concerns regarding derogatory casteist comments in the days leading up to the tragedy, the police investigation has focused on establishing the sequence of events. Investigating officers have recovered examination hall CCTV footage recorded between 12:30 PM and 12:45 PM on September 18, which allegedly shows the student looking into his pocket, prompting an invigilator to seize his answer script and instruct him to leave the hall. Police officials are also examining whether artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT were being accessed on the device during the examination, even as student bodies continue campus demonstrations demanding an independent, thorough inquiry into the systemic pressures facing students.
