IIT Bombay Campus: Mumbai Police detains over 20 students amid protest seeking justice for Sahil Wakode

More than 20 students and their representatives were detained, and several were allegedly assaulted at the IIT Bombay campus by Mumbai police amid ongoing protests demanding justice for deceased BTech student Sahil Wakode, who recently died by suicide over an exam cheating incident.

All detainees were taken to the Powai police station, students alleged. However, IITB and Mumbai police are yet to make an official announcement regarding the detentions.

The protesters and student collectives have alleged that police used extreme force during the crackdown, accusing the cops of tearing their clothes, kicking and choking them. A video shared by students reveals cops pulling and detaining students inside a bus from the protest site at the IIT Bombay campus.

Several media reports also reveal that Wakode’s parents were also detained from a protest site, and police demolished the site near IIT Bombay’s main gate, where students had been protesting for the past month.

The protestors also targeted the IIT Bombay administration over the deployment of police inside the campus, asking who authorised it.

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IITB Protest: Ambedkarite group joins

Subsequently, Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad and representatives of several Ambedkarite organisations reached the spot today and staged a protest demanding an immediate meeting with the IIT Bombay's chairperson of the board of Governors and the director.

Students have alleged that police entered the campus in large numbers in the morning. After an initial detention and brief release, students gathered at the protest site, alongside Wakode's grieving parents to pay tribute, they said.

This is not the first time Congress MP Gaikwad and protesters have been detained outside the main gate of IIT Bombay campus in Powai. Several MPs and NSUI activists were detained outside the campus in September.

The Students Federation of India (SFI) Mumbai has also condemned the crackdown and detention of protesting students and the grieving parents of Sahil Wakode.

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BTech student Sahil Wakode’s death

Students have been protesting near the IITB campus gates in the Powai area for a month, including a 15-day hunger strike, raising allegations of caste discrimination and institutional apathy surrounding the death of 22-year-old Wakode.

Wakode's parents have accused an IITB professor of caste-based harassment and have filed an FIR under abetment to suicide and SC/ST Act provisions, with the Mumbai Crime Branch still investigating the complaint.

They have been continuing their hunger strike at Azan Maidan in south Mumbai, demanding action and accountability from the institute administration. Sahil's parents have accused Professor Suryanarayana Doolla of harassment and caste-based discrimination.

Earlier this month, the police questioned Doolla for nearly 10 hours in connection with the alleged suicide case.

The second-year BTech student was found dead in his hostel room after allegedly being caught cheating during a mid-semester exam. Sunday marked one month since his alleged suicide, prompting students to plan a memorial and a 'mashal juloos' (torchlight procession).

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.