Mumbai : Fresh CCTV footage has emerged in the IIT Bombay student suicide case, showing 22-year-old Sahil Wakode being questioned and later taken out of the examination hall after he was allegedly found using a mobile phone during an exam. The footage, recorded by cameras installed inside the examination hall and in nearby corridors, covers the period between around 12:30 pm and 12:45 pm on September 18, when the examination was nearing its end.
According to the investigation reported so far, Sahil reached his hostel room at around 1:25 pm. CCTV footage from the campus and hostel is being reviewed to establish his movements between the examination venue and his room. Sahil, a second-year BTech student in IIT Bombay’s Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found dead in his hostel room on September 18.
Mumbai Police registered a case following the family’s complaint, including provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The investigation was subsequently transferred to the Crime Branch. The allegations made by the family have not been established. IIT Bombay had initially said Sahil was found using a mobile phone during the examination and had allegedly uploaded the question paper to ChatGPT to seek answers.
The Faculty Forum said Doolla was performing his duties as an invigilator and had followed the institute’s prescribed procedure after allegedly detecting academic malpractice. It also said he was temporarily relieved of his responsibilities as Dean (Administrative Affairs) to facilitate an independent and unbiased inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Sahil’s death.
The protests have also led to an 18-point charter of demands being submitted to IIT Bombay Director Professor Shireesh Kedare. The demands include an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Sahil’s death, reforms to disciplinary procedures, greater student representation, improved counselling and mental-health services, faculty sensitisation programmes, and the creation of a task force involving students, faculty members, mental-health professionals and external experts.
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