Mumbai police have registered a first information report (FIR) against a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay in connection with the suicide of student Sahil Ravindra Wakode, raising fresh questions about the treatment of students at India's premier technical institutes.
Sahil's father, Ravindra Wakode, filed a formal complaint accusing Professor Suryanarayan Dalla of subjecting his son to caste-based abusive language and sustained harassment over approximately three months. In the complaint, filed with the local police station, he specifically named IIT Bombay Director Shrishish B. Kedar, along with several faculty members and senior officials, alleging that the entire episode of intimidation had been carried out under the direct instructions of the institute's top administration.
The police have booked the accused under provisions of the Indian Penal Code relating to abetment of suicide, as well as sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, underscoring the gravity with which authorities are treating the caste component of the alleged harassment.
Sahil Ravindra Wakode was a student at IIT Bombay when he took his own life, prompting immediate outrage among students, alumni, and activists who see the case as part of a troubling pattern on campus. His father contends that his son endured relentless psychological abuse that went unaddressed by the institute's administrative machinery, and that complaints made earlier were neither investigated nor acted upon with any seriousness.
This incident adds to a deeply concerning national conversation about mental health and institutional accountability within India's technical education ecosystem. This year alone, nine student suicides have been reported across IIT campuses, each case sparking protests and demands for systemic reform. Activists argue that the pressure-cooker environment at these institutions, combined with inadequate mental health support and a culture of silence around harassment, continues to put vulnerable students at risk.
The Mumbai police investigation is now underway, and the IIT Bombay administration has yet to issue a detailed public response addressing the specific allegations made against its faculty and leadership.
