‘Did not call police,’ IIT Bombay deputy director tells faculty members; prof questions response

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay administration “had not called the police” to the campus on Sunday, October 18, the deputy director, Milind Atrey told faculty members on October 22. In his Thursday email, Atrey said the visit of the police and the ensuing detention of protesting students were linked to the visit of Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad and MLA Aslam Shaikh to the protest site and coincided with the visit of the parents of Sahil Wakode, a BTech student who died by suicide last month.

Atrey’s email – Careers360 has seen a copy – was in response to another sent by 21 IIT Bombay faculty members on October 20 demanding to know who authorised the entry of the police into the campus. Students protesting over Wakode’s death were detained. The teachers also sought clarifications on the alleged use of force against students and the handling of their belongings during the October 18 protest and detentions.

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The Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC) at IIT Bombay has also condemned Powai police’s actions . Around 20 students were detained on October 18, demanding justice for Sahil Wakode.

IIT Bombay on police detaining students

In the email addressed to professors, Atrey said, “Sahil Wakode’s parents had requested permission to visit the campus. The administration offered its condolences and support and allowed only the parents to visit.”

According to the email, Mumbai Police arrived on October 18 as part of the standard operating procedure for the visit of Gaikwad and Shaikh. The administration added that shortly before the MP and Wakode’s parents arrived, protesting students behaved aggressively towards police personnel and obstructed them from carrying out their duties. “The police detained the students involved and released them by evening,” the email added.

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The email also said that the students’ personal belongings left at the main gate were collected because they were blocking the entrance and put away for safekeeping.  It added, “The items had been kept safely, and the administration is ready to return them to their owners following the standard procedure for  lost-and-found.”

Professor questions IIT Bombay’s account of detentions

However, a professor questioned the institute’s account, arguing that it did not explain the sequence of events or the second round of detentions.

“The DD’s message does not state the truth,” the professor said. “The first group of students was detained and released within about an hour. The response gives the impression that students were detained by police till evening after the first detention, which is not correct.”

He alleged that after the students returned to the campus, the MP met them and Wakode’s parents; the IIT Bombay registrar, too, met the group.  The police allegedly waited for the MP to leave before detaining 22 students again in the presence of the dean of student affairs.

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The professor said the institute’s response did not address this second round of detentions.

IIT Bombay: Concerns over students’ belongings

The professor also questioned the institute’s handling of the students’ personal belongings.

The professor argued that the email also suggests that the belongings had been left unattended by students and were therefore kept by internal security.

Students objected to this characterisation, the professor said, arguing that their belongings were not left unattended but were with them when the police detained them. The professor added that students wanted the items returned to the collective rather than treating them as lost-and-found property.

“Needless to say, the admin does not understand the meaning of collective and movements,” the professor said.

If you know someone – friend or family member – at risk of suicide, please reach out to them. Those in distress or having suicidal thoughts or tendencies could seek help and counselling by calling 9820466726 or visiting AASRA’s official website or can call iCALL on 9152987821. Here are some more helpline numbers of suicide prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.