The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) has constituted a 10-member high-power committee to investigate the death of a 20-year-old BTech student on its campus, with the panel also tasked with examining allegations of caste-based remarks raised by the student's parents.
The committee, appointed by the institute's Board of Governors (BoG) four days after the student's death, has begun examining the circumstances surrounding the incident. It has been directed to submit its report within seven days.
The panel is headed by Prof Ramesh Venkateswaran, chairman of the Board of Governors at IIT-Palakkad. Its members include faculty, students, an administrator, a former vigilance officer and a psychiatrist.
Who is on the inquiry panel
The IIT-Bombay faculty members on the committee are Prof K Narayanan of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Prof Sandip Kumar Saha of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Prof Deepti Kalsi of the Department of Chemistry.
Prof Saha is also the convener of IIT-Bombay's SC/ST Students and Staff Cell.
Three students have been included in the panel: Aditya Joshi, general secretary of hostel affairs; Dev Arora, overall coordinator of the Student Mentor Programme; and research scholar Devi Lal.
The remaining members are retired IAS officer Vishwanath Giriraj, former institute vigilance officer Prof K G Suresh of the Department of Physics and psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty.
A senior institute official said the composition of the committee has been shared with the education ministry and its approval is awaited.
The panel will examine the various aspects of the case, including concerns raised by the student's family, before submitting its findings to the institute.
Family alleges caste-based harassment
The student's parents have alleged that he faced caste-based remarks and harassment before his death. The allegations are being investigated and have not been established.
An FIR registered on the basis of the father's complaint names Prof Suryanarayana Doolla and invokes provisions relating to abetment of suicide and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. IIT-Bombay has denied caste-based discrimination on campus.
The Mumbai Crime Branch is investigating the case and examining CCTV footage from the examination hall, campus and hostel. Investigators are also seeking to reconstruct the sequence of events between the examination and the student's death.
The death occurred on September 18, hours after the student was allegedly found using a mobile phone during a mid-semester examination. IIT-Bombay had initially said he had uploaded the question paper to ChatGPT to seek answers, but later apologised for its communication, saying it was inappropriate to characterise the circumstances before they had been established through an investigation.
Questions have also continued over the role of Prof Suryanarayana Doolla, who was the invigilator during the examination. Some professors have claimed that he was asked to go on leave pending the inquiry, although there was initially no official confirmation from the institute. The Indian Express also reported that it could not independently confirm reports that Doolla was being sent on leave until the probe was completed.
IIT-Bombay has, meanwhile, removed Doolla from his administrative responsibilities as Dean, although he continues as faculty. The move came amid protests on campus and demands for an independent and transparent investigation.
Fresh CCTV footage from the examination hall has also become part of the Crime Branch investigation. Reports said the footage shows Doolla questioning the student and taking him away from other students before the student returned to his hostel.
The development has also prompted faculty bodies from several IITs, including IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Roorkee and IIT Guwahati, to express support for their counterparts at IIT-Bombay and call for due process in the matter.
The inquiry committee's findings are now expected to address the circumstances surrounding the student's death as well as the concerns raised by his family. The institute's panel is required to submit its report within seven days.