IIT Bombay suicide case: Administration to replace ceiling fans with wall mount; CCTV footage extracted as probe deepens
Two days after the suicide of an IIT Bombay student, the administration has decided to replace ceiling fans with wall-mounted fans, sources familiar with the development said.
“The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Bombay) is set to remove ceiling fans from hostels following recent incidents of student deaths,” the sources said. “Wall-mounted fans will be installed across all hostels on campus and in other utility areas across the campus,” it added.
Images of a batch of new wall-mounted fans arriving at the facility have been making rounds on social media.
Sahil, a student of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering hailing from Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, was found dead in his hostel room on the Powai campus on Friday evening, hours after he was caught using a mobile phone to use ChatGPT during a semester examination.
Meanwhile, the SC/ST cell has denied receiving any complaint from Sahil in the months preceding his death. IIT Bombay Faculty Forum President and Professor Rajkumar Panth rejected allegations against Professor Surya Narayana Doolla following the death of Sahil.
Following a discussion with IIT Bombay deputy director Professor Ravindra Gode, it was confirmed that SC/ST cell had issued a notice stating that there had been no attempt by Sahil to approach the cell in the previous three or four months.
“There was absolutely no attempt by the late Sahil to approach the said cell over the last three or four months, no complaint was recorded by him, forget about a complaint, he had not even approached the SP himself for anything,” Panth said.
Subsequently, addressing allegations against Professor Doolla, Panth said the faculty members were required to discharge their duties in accordance with the institute procedures and defended Doolla’s actions in the matter.
He also added that Doolla had previously served as the Dean of Student Affairs before taking up his current position as the Dean of Academic Affairs.
Expressing that he was fully convinced that Doolla is not the kind of person who would be the cause for the suicide, he said, “To expect that a person of his nature, who is known to be very helpful to students, would do this is unreasonable.”
His remarks come amidst the protests by IIT Bombay students following Sahil’s death. The student representatives have said that their protest was not to justify the suicide, cheating or academic misconduct, but was aimed at raising concerns over institutional systems and seeking reforms.
The CCTV footage has now become the center of the probe into Sahil’s death. The Mumbai Crime Branch is examining his movements from the examination hall to the hostel as investigation deepens to unearth what happened before his death. According to reports, Sahil is being seen moving between 12:30 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. in the examination hall, as revealed by the CCTV footage. He was later seen leaving the hall and walking across the IIT Bombay campus before entering his room at about 1:25 p.m., following which he did not leave his room, reports suggest.
Besides extracting the CCTV footage, the crime branch is also expected to question professors and others as a part of their investigation. Sahil’s family has alleged institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination, claims that have led to the students to protest on the campus. His parents have also filed a case under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, related to abetment of suicide, along with provisions of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act.