IIT Bombay suicide case: Crime Branch records statements of 20 people

Mumbai: The Mumbai Crime Branch has so far recorded the statements of 20 people in connection with the suicide case at IIT Bombay, according to sources.

The statements include those of students and some staff members of the institute. Investigators have also recorded statements from students who were present in the examination hall and teachers who were supervising the examination.

Also read: IIT Bombay sets up 10-member panel to probe student's alleged suicide


Statements of hostel staff members have also been recorded as part of the investigation.

Meanwhile, the statement of Professor Suryanarayana Doolla has not yet been recorded, according to sources.

The deceased student's mobile phone is secured with a pattern lock, due to which investigators have not yet been able to ascertain whom he had called or who had called him. However, notifications of several missed calls were visible on the phone's display.

Sources said on Thursday that due to the pattern lock, investigators have so far been unable to retrieve much information from the phone.

On Thursday, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) Chairman, Kishor Makwana, conducted a comprehensive spot inquiry at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) on Thursday in connection with the suicide of Sahil Wakode, a second-year B.Tech student belonging to the Scheduled Caste community.

The inquiry was initiated against the backdrop of serious allegations raised by the student's family regarding caste-based discrimination, harassment, and the circumstances preceding his death, a case currently under investigation by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch.

Meanwhile, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay issued a formal apology regarding statements made in an earlier communication concerning the circumstances surrounding the death of IIT Bombay student Sahil Ravindra Wakode.

Sahil Ravindra Wakode, a 20-year-old BTech student at IIT Bombay, died by suicide on September 18. Following the incident, the police and crime branch began an investigation into the matter.