IIT Bombay suicide case: Congress MP Varsha detained during protest; Deceased student parent’ taken to SC/ST Commission
The police detained Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad along with several party workers and NCP activists who had gathered outside IIT Bombay.
The parents of the IIT Bombay student who died by suicide were taken to South Mumbai to meet the SC/ST Commission while they were on their way to launch a hunger strike seeking justice for the death of their son.
According to their lawyer, the parents were allegedly stopped by the police in Bhandup on Friday afternoon while they were on their way to IIT Bombay in Powai to begin their hunger strike. Both were later taken to Sahyadri bungalow in Walkeshwar for a meeting with the SC/ST Commissioner, the lawyer added.
The parents of the deceased IIT Bombay student had announced a hunger strike on Tuesday at the main gate of IIT Bombay. However, the following day, they were allegedly escorted back to Yavatmal, due to which they could not resume their planned protest. Subsequently, the parents planned to return to Mumbai and begin their strike at IIT Bombay.
Meanwhile, the IIT Bombay administration has announced the rescheduling of the mid-semester examinations, which were previously scheduled for September 26 and 27. According to an official notice issued by the institute, the mid-semester exams will now be conducted on October 10 and 11, with the same timetable.
Earlier in the day, heavy security deployment was seen at the main gate of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay on Thursday, following a demonstration led by Mumbai Congress president and Member of Parliament Varsha Gaikwad.
The police detained Gaikwad along with several Congress workers and NCP activists who had gathered outside IIT Bombay.
The protest was organised to demand accountability and justice over the death of second-year student Sahil Wakhude. Criticising the political appointments to key administrative posts and vice-chancellor positions, Gaikwad said, “A thorough investigation is essential, and this ideological capture of the education system must end. From Vice-Chancellors to key administrative posts, political appointments are rampant.”
She also rejected the classification of the incident as a standard suicide and described it as an institutional death, alleging that it stemmed from deep-seated casteism, communalism and ideological infiltration within premier educational institutions.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday spoke to the parents of Sahil. In a nearly 17-minute video call, Gandhi spoke to Sahil Wakode’s parents — Ravindra and Sonali Wakode — while they were on their way to Mumbai from Washim district.
The Mumbai Police Crime Branch is probing his death, while a faculty member named in the FIR alleging abetment to suicide on grounds of caste discrimination has been sent on leave.