IIT-Bombay apologises, removes professor named in student suicide as dean

Doolla, however, remains a professor at the institution. And that has angered protesting students, who continue to demand his suspension as a professor and not merely his removal from an administrative position.

This decision had been communicated to students in an email by IIT-Bombay Director Prof Shireesh Kedare at noon.

The institute has not issued a separate statement on the suspension.

We apologise for the statements contained in our earlier communication concerning the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate demise of Sahil.

The details and circumstances leading up to the incident remain subject to investigation by the appropriate authorities. In view of…

— IIT Bombay (@iitbombay) September 21, 2026

“The Deanship of Prof. Suryanarayana Doolla is suspended with immediate effect. Any further action will be taken after investigation,” Prof Shireesh Kedare said in the email.

Doolla was earlier Dean of Students Affairs at IIT-Bombay.

He was invigilating the examination taken by Sahil and has been named in the FIR registered by Mumbai Police on the basis of a complaint by Sahil’s parents, who have alleged that their son was subjected to caste-based discrimination by him.

Sahil Wakode was a Second Year student. (File image enhanced by AI)

The “immediate suspension” of Doolla was among the 18 demands submitted by protesting students to the institute administration on Sunday, following three days of protests on campus. The charter was handed over to Prof Kedare during a nearly three-hour meeting with protesting students at the institute’s main gate late Sunday night.

Prof Kedare signed the charter and assured students that the institute would work towards fulfilling their demands. The Board of Governors was scheduled to discuss the demands on Monday, with the administration expected to communicate its decisions to students at an open house later in the day.

The administration, in its initial communication, referred to Sahil’s alleged use of an AI platform during an examination, prompting a protest from the students who argued that proceedings before the disciplinary action committee should have remained confidential until a conclusion was reached.

Police detain activists from different student organisations as they protest demanding justice in the Sahil Wakode suicide case, outside IIT-B Powai campus, in Mumbai on 21 September 2026. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)

“Putting out an allegation against a student who is not even here to defend himself amounts to defamation,” a protesting student had said.

Earlier today, IIT-Bombay issued an apology for statements made in its earlier communication regarding Sahil’s death, meeting another key demand of the protesting students.

In a post on X, the institute said, “The details and circumstances leading up to the incident remain subject to investigation by the appropriate authorities. In view of the ongoing investigation, it was inappropriate to have set out or characterised details relating to the events preceding his demise before they had been duly established through the appropriate investigative process.”