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V Ramgopal Rao, former director of IIT Delhi, has spoken out in support of IIT Bombay professor Suryanarayana Doolla amid the ongoing controversy following the death by suicide of 22-year-old student Sahil Wakode.
In a post on X, Rao said he was โdisturbedโ to see Doolla being โvilifiedโ and called him one of the finest faculty members he had known in the IIT system. He said the concerns raised should be examined fairly and that a public campaign against an individual โserves no oneโ.
Rao is currently Group Vice-Chancellor of BITS Pilani campuses. He previously served as Director of IIT Delhi and has also held academic positions at IIT Bombay.
Raoโs comments come as Doolla remains at the centre of the IIT Bombay controversy after Sahil Wakode died by suicide on September 18.
Doolla was the invigilator during the examination in which Wakode was allegedly found using a mobile phone and seeking answers through ChatGPT. IIT Bombay had initially said Wakode was counselled after the incident and that no disciplinary action had been initiated against him. The institute later apologised for its earlier communication about the circumstances surrounding his death.
Wakodeโs death triggered protests at IIT Bombay, with students submitting an 18-point charter of demands that included action against Doolla and an independent inquiry.
On September 20, IIT Bombay removed Doolla from his responsibilities as Dean of Administrative Affairs. The IIT Bombay Faculty Forum subsequently backed him, saying he had followed the prescribed procedure as an invigilator and had not been suspended as a faculty member.
The professor has also received support from faculty forums and other prominent individuals, who have called for the allegations against him to be examined through due process.
Sahilโs family, meanwhile, has alleged that he faced pressure and caste-based harassment before his death. His father, Ravindra Wakode, has demanded the arrest of Doolla and IIT Bombay Director Shireesh Kedare.
An FIR following the familyโs complaint names Doolla and includes provisions relating to abetment to suicide and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The allegations remain under investigation, and IIT Bombay has denied caste-based discrimination on campus.
The latest development came on September 23, when IIT Bombay management sent Doolla on leave amid the investigation. The institute has also constituted a 10-member panel to examine the circumstances surrounding Wakodeโs death.
The Mumbai Crime Branch has summoned Doolla for questioning as part of its investigation. Amid these developments, Raoโs intervention adds another voice calling for the matter involving Doolla to be examined fairly.
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