Mumbai: “My son had told us that he was facing caste-based harassment. At the time, we told him to bear with it for a while, saying IIT was a prestigious institution and life would get better afterwards. That was our mistake,” said Ravindra Wakode, father of IIT-B student Sahil Wakode (20), expressing regret over the advice the family had given him. Ravindra Wakode and his wife last met Sahil on Sept 13, when they had come to visit him and spent the day with him on campus.Wakode also reiterated his demand for the arrest of IIT-B director Dr Shireesh Kedare and Prof Suryanarayana Doolla. “Sahil told us that he was told he is from a lower caste by Prof Doolla,” his father told TOI.IIT-B alumnus and activist Sudheendra Kulkarni, in a post on social media, however urged for withdrawal of the SC/ST Act case against Prof Doolla, claiming the law has been widely misused. He called for a national debate on its reform.Wakode, when asked in what context the caste issue had cropped up, said his son did not open up any further. However, no complaint was registered with the institute’s SC/ST cell, said Nikhil Kamble, their advocate. The institute’s SC/ST cell also had confirmed in a mail sent to all campus residents on Friday that they did not receive any complaint from Sahil.Ravindra Wakode and his wife, Sonali, visited the crime branch office in Bandra on Tuesday and later arrived at the IIT-B gate. Speaking to the media afterwards, Wakode said the family had faith in the crime branch. However, he demanded arrests be made immediately in accordance with the case registered. Prof Doolla and ‘other senior officials’ from the institute have been accused of abetment and harassment under the Atrocities Act.“What I fail to understand is why the police are moving around with Sahil’s parents. Ironically, it feels like they have arrested him,” said Sanjay Ambhore, father of Aniket Ambhore, also an IIT-B student, who died by suicide in 2014.Wakode said Sahil had secured a good all-India rank. “I cannot describe how much pain I’m going through. I am a teacher. I know how intelligent my son was. I beg you, please give my son justice,” Sonali said. She also called for scrutiny of IIT-B’s past record. “Look at IIT’s background. Why are Dalit students dying by suicide here?” she asked.While speaking of the misuse of the Atrocities Act, Kulkarni in his social media post also said higher education institutions, including IITs, must continually improve campus life to ease student stress. He added coaching and peer support initiatives are needed for students from marginalised communities.“Tragically, many students at IITs and other institutions of higher learning take their own lives. They belong to all castes and communities. The causes behind these tragedies vary,” Kulkarni noted.
