00:00At IIT Bombay, the death of 20-year-old Sahil Vakode has triggered a bitter campus divide.
00:06His parents, while staging a protest, alleged caste harassment and blamed Professor Surya Narayan Dulla and senior institute officials.
00:14Sahil's parents have recorded their statements, alleging casteist slurs, threats and harassment.
00:19They are demanding the arrest of Professor Dulla and Director Shirish Kedare.
00:24But the faculty has a very different version.
00:26IIT Bombay's faculty forum has backed Professor Dulla, saying that there is no evidence of caste-related remarks and that
00:33he was simply discharging his duties.
00:35And India Today has learnt that the probe is now chasing crucial leads.
00:39Sahil's phone remains locked, technical help is being sought to unlock it and police will probe whether he had complained
00:45about caste harassment before his death.
00:47The case has also been transferred to the Mumbai Crime Branch, who have recorded the statement of students who were
00:52present in the exam hall and Sahil's friend.
00:55Meanwhile, the IIT Bombay campus is split.
00:57Students are protesting, demanding justice for Sahil, while another section is backing Professor Dulla.
01:03And they are saying that caste harassment did not happen.
01:49So let's understand what is the IIT Bombay faculty's version.
01:54They are backing Professor Dulla.
01:56So they are saying that there is no evidence of caste-related remarks.
01:59So they are essentially saying that these claims are false and there is no evidence or proof of any caste
02:07-related remarks that were made by Professor Dulla against Sahil.
02:11Professor Dulla willified for no reason.
02:13So this is also what the faculty is claiming.
02:17So that's a strong remark, that's a strong defense from the faculty which is saying that there should be some
02:23evidence before blaming somebody.
02:26Facts must be established before drawing any conclusions against Professor Dulla.
02:31And they have also said that he was simply discharging his duties.
02:34Because remember, he was the professor who had reported the malpractice, the exam malpractice to the authorities.
02:39And hence he is now being, he is now in the dock.
02:42He is now being blamed.
02:44And the teachers are saying, the faculty is saying that Professor Dulla was simply discharging his duties.
02:49That is what an invigilator is supposed to do.
02:52And the faculty has said that I have not seen clear-cut caste bias.
02:57So the faculty is clearly saying that there has been no past cases or instances of any caste bias.
03:01So it's hard to believe that that has happened this time.
03:04So one must wait for the evidences or proof to draw any conclusions.
03:08Suicides are not just an IIT Bombay problem.
03:11So they are also claiming that this is not just an IIT Bombay problem.
03:14This happens in many campuses, in several campuses across the country.
03:19So this is not just confined to IIT Bombay.
03:22Now, what are the parents saying?
03:25The parents of Sahil Vakore, what are the charges?
03:28What are the claims that they are making?
03:29Let's take a look.
03:30So the first and foremost charge that they have leveled is that director and dean used casteist slurs.
03:36So this includes Professor Dulla and also the director Kedare.
03:41So they are saying that there was caste harassment that took place.
03:44There were casteist slurs that were hurled.
03:47They are also claiming that Sahil Vakore was threatened and harassed due to caste.
03:51So it all comes down to caste.
03:53The parents are claiming that this was caste harassment that took place.
03:56And this is what led to Sahil allegedly ending his life because he was threatened and harassed due to his
04:02caste.
04:03The parents have also claimed that he was threatened to implicate him in false cases.
04:08So he was being threatened that he will be implicated in false cases.
04:12And they are also claiming that Professor Dulla incited him to commit suicide.
04:16So that's the strongest charge.
04:19That's the strongest allegation that has been made by the parents that it was in fact Professor Dulla who incited
04:25Sahil to commit suicide.
04:27And they are also claiming that IIT Bombay is destroying crucial evidence.
04:32So they are claiming and questioning IIT Bombay as well.
04:36They are saying that they are trying to shield the professor and hence they are trying to destroy crucial evidence.
04:45Let's also take a look at some figures of IIT student suicides.
04:49What is the rate?
04:50What are the numbers?
04:51So between 2020 to 21 and 2024-25, a total of 45 student suicides were reported across 23 IITs.
05:02Of these, 12 students were from the OBC category, 9 were from the Schedule caste category, 7 were from the
05:09Schedule tribe category and 16 were from the General category.
05:13And 1 was from the Economically Weaker Section category.
05:17So this is according to a government of India Reply in the Lok Sabha, which is dated December 8, 2025.
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