Story perspectives

IIT Bombay Suspends Dean After Student Suicide, Launches Probe

By Drooid · Sep 25, 2026, 4:02 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

IIT Bombay suspended Dean Suryanarayana Doolla after student Sahil Wakode’s suicide.
The institute postponed mid-semester exams to October 10-11 following protests.
A ten-member panel led by Prof Ramesh Venkateswaran will investigate the case.
Students presented an 18-point charter demanding disciplinary and mental-health reforms.
Mumbai Crime Branch is probing the incident under the SC/ST Act.

History

Historical Context

After a wave of student suicides in 2009, IIT Kharagpur launched a Student Counselling Cell in 2010 to address mental-health distress, marking the first institutional response within the IIT system. Ongoing criticism of IITs for intense entrance exams and pressure has kept student well-being in focus, prompting other campuses such as IIT Bombay to confront similar challenges.

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Story summary

IIT Bombay suspended Dean Suryanarayana Doolla after student Sahil Wakode’s suicide.
The institute postponed mid-semester exams to October 10-11 following protests.
A ten-member panel led by Prof Ramesh Venkateswaran will investigate the case.
Students presented an 18-point charter demanding disciplinary and mental-health reforms.
Mumbai Crime Branch is probing the incident under the SC/ST Act.

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