Mumbai: The parents of Sahil Wakode, the IIT Bombay student who died by suicide last week, began an indefinite hunger strike at Azad Maidan here on Thursday seeking action against their son’s ‘tormentors’.
“Those who tortured my son should be put behind bars. He had told us that he repeatedly faced caste discrimination at the institute,” Ravindra said.
Sonali Wakode was more specific. “I want justice for my son. I want action against Professor Shireesh Kedare and Professor (Suryanarayan) Doolla. That’s all I want — justice,” she said.
#WATCH | Sonali Wakode says, “I want justice for my son. I want action against Professor Kedare and Professor Doolla. That’s all I want — justice.” https://t.co/tu8znf4uDF pic.twitter.com/JKdkEpvIFi
— ANI (@ANI) September 24, 2026
Prof. Doolla was the invigilator who found Sahil using unfair means during a mid-term exam.
Prof. Doolla, accused by the parents of alleged caste bias, has been sent on leave to facilitate impartial probe into student’s death.
He has been named in the FIR registered which was after Sahil’s parents made a formal complaint to police. Accused of abetment to suicide on grounds of caste discrimination, Doolla has been sent on leave to facilitate an impartial probe into the case.
Prof. Kedare and other institute officials have also been named in the FIR
Parents detained by police
Ravindra and Sonali Wakode were detained by police on way to IIT Bombay to start the hunger strike. They were made to wait at Bhandup police station for an hour, according to their lawyer Nikhil Kamble.
They wanted to demonstrate outside the IIT campus gates. But police dissuaded Sahil’s parents from doing so, and they agreed to sit on hunger strike at the designated site in Azad Maidan.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spoke to Sahil’s parents and assured them all help in their fight to seek justice for their son.
Meanwhile, the institute deferred its mid-semester exams amid the controversy and reissued an apology over an earlier statement which had indicated that Sahil died by suicide hours after allegedly being caught using ChatGPT in an exam.
