Mumbai: Sahil Wakode, the second-year BTech student at IIT Bombay who died by suicide last month, in his written statement to the institute after being caught copying, had said he would not repeat the mistake and had asked for a “chance”, police sources said.Wakode apologised and said it was a mistake and that he had not prepared well for the exam, they added. The police said they are carrying out a detailed probe based on this statement.Meanwhile, professor Suryanarayan Dolla, who has been named an accused in the abetment to suicide case, in his statement to the police, has denied allegations of harassment levelled against him by Wakode’s parents.Wakode (22) was found dead in his hostel room hours after the exam on Sept 18. The institute’s policy for handling academic malpractices mentions that a student who is caught copying is given two working days to submit a written response, after being given a copy of the report by the instructor and after the evidence is submitted.Immediately after he was caught copying, Wakode spoke to a female friend and told her his thermodynamics theory paper did not go well and he was worried as he had wanted to score well. He also told her that he had been caught cheating during the exam, police sources said.The city crime, probing the case, has already recorded the statement of IIT Bombay director Shireesh Kedare.Kedare said it is significant for understanding the standard operating procedure (SOP) for dealing with students caught copying using unauthorised material during examinations.Other than Prof Dolla, against whom allegations were levelled, police have recorded the statements of over 20 individuals so far, including 12 students.While the police probe is on, an internal inquiry by a 10-member committee set up by the institute is also underway. The institute’s guidelines state that “on discovery of an act of indiscipline during the exam, the invigilator should confiscate the relevant material like chits, phones, answer papers, give a fresh answerbook and students should be allowed to resume writing the exam”.A disciplinary action document passed by the institute’s senate in Aug this year, which called for a fail grade and a semester’s suspension for copying using chits, smartphones or other gadgets, has now been withdrawn. At a senate meeting held last week, the institute reverted to its 2015 punishment guidelines, which call for suspension only in serious cases, such as impersonation, or for repeat offences. In a revised SOP, the institute also included a provision for the invigilator to alert the wellness response team (WRT) for student support.Wakode was caught with his phone during the mid-semester exam on Sept 18. Hours after the incident, he was found dead in his hostel room. Protests erupted on the campus immediately after the news spread, but many discontinued them after the institute held an open house four days later. About 10-12 students are continuing their protests near the main gate. They are also on a relay hunger strike. The students have been demanding an external probe into the incident. Sahil’s parents, Ravindra and Sonali, too, are on hunger strike. Their protest, too, entered the 12th day on Monday. They are demanding the arrest of institute officials and justice for their son.
