Report by Swati
Mumbai, September 21, 2026: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has suspended Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who was serving as Dean of Student Affairs, amid intensified student protests following the death by suicide of second-year student Sahil Ravindra Wakode.
Doolla, a professor in IIT Bombay’s Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was suspended on the evening of September 20 as students demanded accountability and an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Sahil’s death. Sahil, 20, died by suicide on September 18, shortly after he was reportedly found using a mobile phone during a mid-semester examination. According to the institute, the question paper had allegedly been uploaded to ChatGPT to seek answers.The incident triggered protests on the IIT Bombay campus. Sahil’s family subsequently filed a police complaint alleging, among other things, caste-based discrimination and abetment to suicide, and Professor Doolla was named in the FIR. IIT Bombay has denied that any complaint of caste discrimination had previously been lodged by Sahil with its SC/ST Cell or the institute administration. The allegations are currently under investigation. IIT Bombay has also apologised for its earlier communication regarding the circumstances of Sahil’s death and said the details of the incident remain under investigation. The institute has urged all concerned to respect the ongoing inquiry and avoid speculation. Meanwhile, reports of IIT Bombay Director Professor Shireesh B. Kedare’s resignation have been denied by the institute, which said the reports were false.
