Mumbai, Sep 21 (IANS): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Monday strongly criticised the handling of protests at IIT Bombay following the death of a second-year student, describing the reported sacking of professors as a “band-aid solution”.
Chaturvedi said the student’s death was a tragic reminder that premier institutions such as the IITs need to urgently examine the overall campus environment and address concerns related to student mental health.
Taking to X, Chaturvedi said, “While the death of the IIT Bombay student is extremely unfortunate and yet another reminder that these premier institutions need to work on the campus environment and mental health but to sack the professors to end the protests is just a band-aid solution to a problem that needs surgery.”
“Also, shifting the blame on the professors who were doing their job of reporting copying during an exam and making it about caste discrimination is a sad outcome,” she added.
The second-year student was found dead on the IIT Bombay campus in Powai on September 18. The incident reportedly occurred after he was caught using a mobile phone during an examination by the institute authorities. His death a few hours after the incident triggered intense protests by students on the Powai campus.
The deceased student was identified as Sahil Wakode, a resident of Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, who was pursuing his second year in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at IIT Bombay.
Following the student’s death and the subsequent protests, a case was registered against his teacher, Satyanarayan Dalla, Mumbai Police said on Saturday.
According to officials, a complaint was also filed against faculty members, senior officials and other authorities of IIT Bombay under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, as well as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The student’s death led to intense demonstrations at the gates of the IIT Bombay campus, as protesting students raised concerns over the circumstances surrounding the incident and the institute’s response.
The protesters also put forward a list of 18 demands, which included the resignation of key administrative officials, mandatory mental health workshops for faculty members and the immediate sacking of the professors allegedly involved in the incident.
