IIT Bombay postpones semester exams amid protests over suicide

The exams have been postponed to October 10-11.

Mumbai: Amid protests over the alleged suicide of student Sahil Wakode, IIT Bombay has postponed the mid-semester examinations scheduled for September 26-27 to October 10-11, an official said on Thursday, September 24.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has been at the center of a controversy for the last six days after 22-year-old Wakode, a second-year BTech student, was found hanging in his hostel room on September 18. His parents alleged that he had faced caste-based discrimination and harassment.

Earlier in the day, police detained Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad, several workers of her party and NSUI activists as they gathered outside the institute to express solidarity with Sahil Wakode’s family.

Meanwhile, an email purportedly sent in 2024 by IIT Bombay professor Suryanarayana Doolla, then Dean of Student Affairs, has been circulating on social media.

In the email, Prof Doolla cautioned students against asking fellow students about their admission categories, JEE (Advanced) ranks or GATE scores, saying such questions could reveal their caste or whether they belonged to a reserved category.

Prof Doolla, who has been named in the First Information Report (FIR) registered by police for alleged abetment to suicide on grounds of caste discrimination, was sent on leave earlier this week to facilitate an impartial probe into the case.