Mumbai IIT suicide case: Zoho’s Sridhar Vembu backs Prof Doolla over ‘caste insults’ — SC/ST Act ‘armed’ | Today’s news
Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu has backed the case against charges against Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mumbai professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who was booked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, for the suicide of a 22-year-old college student.
Vembu re-shared one of Ananthan Ayyasamy’s posts on X and said, “I deeply respect Ananthan’s principled stand on this matter. Professor Suryanarayana Doolla should not be subjected to this.”
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Professor Doolla has been accused of hurling casteist abuse at the student for the past three months.
What is the whole case?
Sahil Ravindra Wakode, a 22-year-old student of IIT Bombay, died by suicide in his hostel room on Friday evening after he was allegedly caught using his mobile phone during an examination, police told PTI.
He was a second year BTech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering.
According to a statement from IIT Bombay, Wakode allegedly uploaded the exam question paper on ChatGPT to search for answers during the exam.
Read also | IIT Bombay student caught using ChatGPT in exam dies by suicide; a protest breaks out
Wakode’s parents and some students alleged that the professor took him out of the exam hall and threatened him with suspension. But in a statement, IIT-Bombay said “no disciplinary action has been taken against the student”.
Wakode, a native of Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his room at Hostel Number 4 in the Powai campus on Friday evening, an official said.
The official said Wakode’s death came to light after his roommates received no response from his room and alerted the authorities, who then informed the police.
No suicide note was found at the spot, the official said, adding that the Powai police have registered an accidental death report (ADR) and sent the body for post-mortem.
Allegations of torture; SC/ST Act v. Prof
The deceased student’s parents had come to Mumbai from Yavatmal and alleged that their son had been subjected to institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination before his death, an official was quoted as saying by PTI.
Wakode’s mother claimed her son was tortured. “My son was killed, tortured. I want justice,” she told reporters.
His father filed a formal complaint with the police. He made serious allegations of harassment in the complaint and said the professor had hurled casteist abuse at the student for the past three months, according to news agency ANI.
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A case under Section 108 (incitement to suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita along with relevant provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was registered at the Powai police station on the complaint of his parents, the official said.
Mumbai Police has registered a First Information Report (FIR) naming IIT Mumbai professor and invigilator of examinations Suryanarayan Dulla.
The Mumbai Police has officially handed over the case of the alleged suicide of a second year BTech student at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mumbai to the Mumbai Police Crime Branch.
Wakode’s death is the third reported case of suicide at IIT Bombay’s Powai campus in the last seven months.
In February, a second-year student died by suicide in the dormitory. In July 2026, at the start of the new semester, a 20-year-old second-year BTech student also ended his life.
Solidarity with Professor Suryanarayana Doolla
In a show of solidarity, social media user Ananthan Ayyasamy posted that he “strongly disagrees with the charge against Prof. Suryanarayan Doolla of IIT Bombay under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
He opposed the “abuse” of the law.
He said he belongs to Devendra Kula Vellalar (DKV) community, classified as SC. “I grew up in deep rural poverty and witnessed first hand the suffering of my people. I was educated by generous people from many communities,” he wrote on X.
Ayyasamy, who wrote ‘BJP Tenkasi Dt President’ in his bio on X, introduced himself by saying, “I studied electronics at NIT Tiruchirappalli, worked at C-DOT Bengaluru and then at Intel in India and the US, where I rose to the position of engineer and senior Silicon Architect responsible for the high-speed GPU interconnects that are vital for modern CPUs and CPUs.”
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“I am sharing this to make it clear that I know what it means to come from the SC community and rise through hard work and determination. Our DKV community has taken a principled, voluntary stand of not filing SC/ST cases against anyone. We have seen how cases are being weaponized under this law and how it is deepening enmity on the ground,” Ayyasamy said.
He added, “Based on this, I am against the misuse of this law in this case. The case against Prof. Dooll must be withdrawn. This is important for the future of SC/ST students and for our nation.”
The IIT Bombay Faculty Forum had earlier expressed solidarity with the invigilator of examinations Prof Suryanarayana Doolla, saying he had followed institutional protocol after finding the student “unauthorisedly holding and using a smartphone”.
“We strongly express our solidarity with our colleague Professor Suryanarayan Doolla, who performed his duties in accordance with the institute’s current academic policy approved by the Senate,” the forum said in a statement, while expressing its deepest condolences to the student’s family.
The forum said Professor Doolla, a course instructor, was supervising a mid-term exam from 11am to 1pm on September 18 when he saw a student using a smartphone without permission, which it called “academic misconduct”.
The forum said: “As part of the institute approved procedure, he has reported the incident to the institute authorities for further action on the matter. The IIT Bombay Faculty Forum is absolutely disturbed by the tarnishing of the reputation of our colleague Prof. Suryanarayan Doolla, who was only performing his academic duties and following the procedures approved by the institute.”
The institute had earlier said that the instructor and head of the department counseled the student and assured him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career. “The student subsequently returned to his dormitory room. Later in the evening he was found dead in his room. He then returned to his dormitory room where he was found dead in the evening,” the institute said.
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“IIT Bombay is deeply saddened by the loss of a student. The institute is extending support to students’ friends, classmates, faculty members and others affected by this tragic incident,” he said, adding that the relevant authorities are looking into the circumstances.
Earlier, students at IIT Bombay staged a late night protest following the death of a second year student. The students demanded responsibility and transparency from the administration of the institute.
Police deployed personnel to the campus to control the situation as discussions between students and administration were ongoing.
(With input from agencies)
