Mumbai, Sep 21 (PTI) In view of protests over the suicide of an IIT Bombay student, the institute’s director, Prof Shireesh Kedare, has said he will resign on Monday, but noted he must follow the process.
The Board of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay is scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss the issue.
Prof Kedare told protesters late Sunday night, “I will resign; however, I have to follow the process and will convey my decision after a meeting on Monday.” The institute’s administration has agreed to 18 demands put forth by the protesters during a meeting.
Sahil Ravindra Wakode (22), a second-year BTech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his hotel room on the IIT Bombay’s Powai campus on Friday evening, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone and ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination, according to officials.
His family has alleged that Wakode, a native of Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, was subjected to institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination before he took the extreme step, which triggered a protest by students on the campus. The protesters claimed that Wakode faced severe pressure and threats of academic suspension.
Following a complaint by the student’s parents, the police on Saturday registered an FIR on charges of abetment of suicide under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. A professor has been named as an accused in the case, which is being investigated by the Crime Branch, according to police.
As per a statement from IIT Bombay, Wakode had allegedly uploaded the examination question paper to ChatGPT to seek answers during the exam. However, no disciplinary action was initiated against him, it said.
The matter was also discussed with the student by the instructor and the Head of the Department, who counselled him and assured him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career, the statement said.
The student subsequently returned to his hostel room. Later that evening, he was found dead in his room. PTI SM GK
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