Yavatmal: The family of 19-year-old Sahil Ravindra Wakode, a second-year student at IIT Bombay, has demanded a CID investigation into his death at the institute hostel, alleging that the incident was not a suicide.Wakode’s family alleged foul play and submitted a letter to the district administration in Yavatmal seeking a probe. While his parents have left for Mumbai to follow up on the case, relatives back home set up banners outside the family’s home demanding justice for Sahil.His aunt Ganga Wakode rejected the suicide theory. “Sahil could never have taken his life,” she said. Ganga said Sahil was intelligent, focused and composed since childhood and committed to his academic goals, making it difficult for them to accept that he would take such a drastic step.Ganga also questioned the institute’s handling of an alleged mobile phone incident during an examination, asking how Sahil could have used a phone inside an IIT hall where phones are prohibited. The family said the institute should have informed his parents had any such incident occurred.The family’s allegations of caste-based discrimination, psychological pressure or humiliating treatment at the institute have not been independently established. No response from IIT Bombay or the district administration on the CID demand was available.Sahil, a second-year student from Shelu Brahmanwada village in Arni taluka, scored 94 percentile in JEE Advanced, ranking 614th nationally in the Scheduled Caste category. He reportedly achieved an 8.5 CGPA in his first year at IIT Bombay and was a Mathematics Olympiad gold medallist.
