Mumbai: Addressing the campus community directly in a video on Saturday, Ravindra Wakode, father of the deceased IIT-Bombay student Sahil Wakode, said, “I tried entering IIT Bombay two to four times; I wasn’t allowed, and I have now been allowed to protest at Azad Maidan on Monday. Sahil is gone, but I now request you to too sit on protest even for the benefit of your own career. Support us so that the truth can come out; don’t let anybody stop you; I will keep fighting even if I lose my life. I request you, if you have any evidence about Sahil, please keep it safe as it will be very helpful to me in court and enquiry.”Sahil (20), a second-year BTech student, died by suicide in his hostel room on Sept 18.The family’s legal counsel, Siddharth Ingle, said the family plans to resume their fast and protest on Monday in Azad Maidan. “The family did not sit on protest over the weekend because of Ganpati visarjan in the interest of public safety as per the high court’s direction,” said Ingle.The Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC) collective at IIT Bombay has demanded an external independent investigation unmediated by the institution or any support to the accused, stating the probe committee must be headed by an SC/ST person and include at least one external member with expertise in these matters to ensure an impartial investigation without authoritarian intervention. They further demanded that the committee must have 50% SC/ST representation and include a minimum of five female members from across disciplines.In a widening of support, some students from IIT Delhi also issued a public letter in solidarity, demanding a fair and transparent external investigation with equal student representation into the deaths of Sahil and all other campus suicides. The IIT Delhi students further called for an investigation into the ex-dean and other professors regarding instances of mental torment, alongside concrete measures to strengthen mechanisms to prevent further student suicides across all IIT campuses. Concurrently, a section of students held a candlelight march on Friday in IIT Bombay campus to demand justice for Sahil and call for immediate accountability from the institute authorities.
