IIT Bombay Student’s Death Merits Thorough Probe: Ramdas Athawale

Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Friday sought a “thorough investigation” into the death by suicide of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode last week.

“Any student who gets admission to the IIT is very clever and highly capable. Sahil’s death should be thoroughly investigated and action should be taken against those responsible,” the minister said after visiting IIT Bombay.

“The way he died by suicide suggests there could be some major reason behind it. Someone may have insulted him and forced him to take the extreme step,” Athawale said.

Sahil’s parents Ravindra Wakode and Sonali Wakode went on a hunger strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Thursday to seek justice for their son, who died on September 18.

They have alleged that he faced caste-based discrimination on campus and are demanding a fast-tracked investigation, accountability, and the arrest of individuals they hold responsible.

Sahil’s parents were detained by Mumbai Police in Bhandup on Thursday morning while they were on their way to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay campus in Powai, their lawyer Nikhil Kamble claimed.