Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch is examining CCTV footage from IIT Bombay as part of its investigation into the death by suicide of second-year BTech student Sahil Ravindra Wakode on September 18. According to investigators, footage from the examination hall between around 12.30 pm and 12.45 pm shows Sahil looking towards something in his pocket before Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who was invigilating the exam, questioned him and asked him to leave the hall.
The footage is being reviewed alongside recordings from the campus and hostel to reconstruct Sahil’s movements before he returned to his room at around 1.25 pm. The development comes amid an ongoing dispute over what preceded his death. Sahil’s family has alleged caste-based discrimination and harassment, and an FIR names Doolla in connection with allegations of abetment to suicide and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
These allegations remain under investigation. IIT Bombay has apologised for its initial communication about the circumstances surrounding Sahil’s death, saying it was inappropriate to characterise events before they were established. The institute has also relieved Doolla of his deanship pending the probe. Meanwhile, student representatives have clarified that their protests were not intended to justify cheating and said they do not presume Doolla’s guilt, while the IIT Bombay Faculty Forum and faculty from IIT Delhi and IIT Madras have publicly backed him.
CCTV Reconstructs Final Hours
The CCTV footage has emerged as an important part of the Crime Branch’s effort to establish a timeline of Sahil’s final hours. Investigators have clarified that the footage has not been released publicly or shown to others and is being examined by the investigating team. According to a Crime Branch official, cameras recorded Sahil inside the examination hall between approximately 12.30 pm and 12.45 pm on September 18. During the exam, he was reportedly seen bending down and looking towards something in his pocket. Doolla then questioned him and took him aside before Sahil left the examination hall. Investigators are now examining CCTV recordings from the examination hall, campus and hostel to establish what happened after he left the room.
The footage reportedly shows Sahil returning to his hostel at around 1.25 pm, after which he did not leave his room. A Crime Branch team led by ACP Dharamveer Bansod also searched his hostel room and conducted a panchnama on Monday as part of the investigation.
The CCTV development follows IIT Bombay’s initial account of the examination incident, which said Sahil had allegedly been found using a mobile phone and had uploaded the question paper to ChatGPT to seek answers. The institute had said that no disciplinary action had been initiated and that the student had been counselled by the instructor, faculty adviser and Head of Department.
However, after protests and criticism over the communication, IIT Bombay apologised and said it was inappropriate to characterise details surrounding Sahil’s death before they had been established through an investigation. The institute said the circumstances leading up to the incident remained under investigation. This distinction is important because while the CCTV footage can help investigators establish a sequence of events, it does not by itself establish why Sahil died or whether any particular interaction caused or contributed to his death.
Students Clarify Protest Stand
Sahil’s death triggered several days of protests at IIT Bombay, with students raising concerns about institutional accountability, disciplinary processes, student welfare, grievance mechanisms and mental-health support. The student representatives have now clarified that their agitation was not intended to justify cheating or any form of academic misconduct. In a statement issued on September 21, they said the protest was instead aimed at raising long-standing systemic concerns and seeking “meaningful and strong institutional reforms” to prevent similar circumstances in the future.
They also said they did not presume Doolla’s guilt and wanted the investigation to proceed fairly and impartially. The students said their demand concerning Doolla was that he be relieved of his administrative responsibilities as Dean while the investigation continued.
The clarification came after IIT Bombay’s Director, Professor Shireesh Kedare, agreed to an 18-point charter submitted by the protesting students following three days of agitation. Their demands included an independent investigation into Sahil’s death, changes to student grievance and disciplinary systems, stronger healthcare and counselling facilities, and a 24-hour psychiatrist-on-call service. The students also sought action concerning Doolla, though they said their protest should not be interpreted as a presumption of his guilt. The institute subsequently relieved Doolla of his deanship. He continues to remain a professor at IIT Bombay, while the investigation proceeds.
At the same time, a separate section of the IIT Bombay community has publicly supported Doolla. After he was removed from his administrative post, members of the IIT Bombay Faculty Forum gathered on campus and held a protest march carrying placards and posters in solidarity with him. In a statement, the forum said it “stands strongly” with Doolla and objected to what it described as “false and misleading reports” that had affected his reputation.
It also said Doolla had been temporarily relieved of his duties as Dean to facilitate an “independent, unbiased investigation”, while continuing as a faculty member. Faculty forums at IIT Delhi and IIT Madras also expressed solidarity with him.
Probe Amid Conflicting Claims
The investigation is unfolding against the backdrop of allegations by Sahil’s family that he had faced caste-based harassment and discrimination. His father has alleged that Doolla mistreated his son and linked the alleged treatment to his death. Mumbai Police registered an FIR based on the family’s complaint, including charges under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and for alleged abetment to suicide.
These are allegations and have not been established by the investigation. IIT Bombay, meanwhile, has said it had not received a prior complaint from Sahil through its SC/ST cell or administration.
The differing positions have made the ongoing investigation particularly significant. Students are calling for institutional reforms while explicitly distancing their protest from any defence of academic misconduct. Faculty members have backed Doolla and called for an impartial investigation, while Sahil’s family continues to seek answers over the circumstances they believe contributed to his death. Parents and relatives of students who died by suicide at IIT Bombay in previous years have also joined the protests, calling for greater accountability and answers from the institution.
For now, the Crime Branch is piecing together CCTV footage, witness accounts and other evidence to establish what happened between Sahil’s examination and his return to his hostel room. The institute has acknowledged that its earlier communication went beyond what had been established and has apologised. With the investigation still underway, questions around the examination incident, the allegations of caste-based discrimination, institutional processes and student support remain unresolved.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Sahil Wakode’s death raises difficult questions that deserve answers without turning an ongoing investigation into a trial in the public arena. Academic integrity matters, but so do dignity, due process, transparency and the wellbeing of students.
The allegations made by Sahil’s family must be investigated fairly, while Prof. Doolla’s position and the faculty’s concerns also deserve to be assessed through evidence rather than assumptions. The students’ clarification that their protest was not a defence of cheating, alongside the faculty march supporting Doolla, shows how important it is to leave space for dialogue even amid deep disagreement. Institutions such as IIT Bombay must ensure that disciplinary systems are transparent, grievance mechanisms are accessible and students have meaningful support when they face distress.
As investigators work to establish the facts, what further changes can educational institutions make to ensure that academic discipline and student dignity are protected together?
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