MUMBAI: The parents of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode, who died by suicide on September 18, spent around eight hours at the Bandra West office of the Mumbai Crime Branch on Friday, an official said.They arrived at 10am and left around 6pm.While their statements had been recorded during an earlier visit, Crime Branch officials did not say whether any additional information or statements were recorded during Friday’s session, news agency PTI reported.The Crime Branch has so far recorded statements of 20 people in connection with the case, while efforts are underway to access Wakode’s locked mobile phone.Wakode’s parents have alleged that their son faced caste discrimination at the institute. They staged a hunger strike at Azad Maidan on Thursday, seeking action against his “tormentors”.Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Ramdas Athawale meanwhile visited IIT Bombay and sought a thorough investigation into Wakode’s death, PTI reported.As per the preliminary investigation, Sahil Wakode, 22, a student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, went directly to his hostel room after leaving the examination hall on September 18.The institute had initially said that he was caught using an AI-platform on his mobile phone during the examination. When he did not emerge from his room by around 7pm, the door was opened and he was found dead inside.Among the 20 people questioned so far are students who were present in the examination hall, invigilators and various administrative officials, police said.Wakode’s mobile phone was secured with a pattern lock, restricting access, though several missed call notifications were visible on the display screen, a police official said.Forensic experts were trying to access the device, PTI reported.IIT Bombay faculty member Suryanarayan Doolla, who has been named in the police FIR alleging abetment to suicide on grounds of caste discrimination, has been sent on leave to facilitate an impartial probe into the case.Wakode’s parents, Ravindra and Sonali Wakode, began a hunger strike at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Thursday, alleging that their son repeatedly faced caste discrimination at the institute.They left the ground at night.During his visit to IIT Bombay, Athawale, a prominent Dalit leader from Maharashtra, discussed the matter with the institute’s director and senior officials. He also visited Wakode’s hostel room, officials said.“Any student who gets admission to the IIT is very clever and highly capable. Sahil’s death should be thoroughly investigated and action should be taken against those responsible,” the minister said.“The way he died by suicide suggests there could be some major reason behind it. Someone may have insulted him and forced him to take the extreme step,” Athawale said.Athawale said he would discuss the issue with Union education minister Pralhad Joshi, PTI reported.The institute has apologised twice over its earlier communication indicating that Sahil died by suicide hours after allegedly being caught using ChatGPT during an exam.Some TV channels aired CCTV footage from the examination hall showing Sahil’s movements before a professor approached him and led him away from the hall.Police said the CCTV footage was being used to reconstruct the sequence of events.(With agency inputs)
