IIT-B director signs 18 demands amid calls for his resignation, professor’s suspension
Last night at IIT Bombay, after three full days of students sitting near the main gate, the director, Professor Shireesh Kedare, finally sat down with them for almost three hours. He signed their 18-point list of demands. The whole meeting was live-streamed by the students themselves. That was Sunday night, 20 September.
It all started because of Sahil Wakode. He was a 20-year-old second-year student in Energy Science and Engineering. On Friday evening, 18 September, they found him dead in his hostel room. Earlier that same day he had been caught with his phone in a mid-semester exam. The institute says he put the question paper on an AI tool to get answers. They claim the professor and the department head talked to him, counselled him, and told him it wouldn’t spoil his career. No formal punishment was started.
Sahil’s family and a lot of students say something else happened. They say Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who was invigilating, threatened him with a one-year suspension. The family went to the police and filed a case of abetment of suicide. They also alleged caste discrimination, so the police added the SC/ST Act. The case has now gone to the Crime Branch. The institute completely denies any caste angle and says student caste details are kept secret and no complaint was ever given to their SC/ST cell.
Students had already been angry about the pressure on campus – exams piled up, mental-health support feeling thin, disciplinary rules that scare people. This was the third student death this year. By Saturday more than a hundred of them were at the main gate and they weren’t leaving.
On Sunday night the director and other seniors finally talked through the whole 18-point list. One big demand is that Professor Doolla should be suspended right away. Kedare said they will “follow the process.” Later an official made it clear that signing the paper doesn’t mean every demand happens immediately. The Faculty Forum has come out in support of Doolla, saying he only did his invigilation duty the way the rules say and his name is being dragged unfairly.
The students also want an independent inquiry into Sahil’s death, with students and outside people on the panel. They want an interim report by 30 September and the final one by 15 October. They want a public apology for what they call the defaming of Sahil, an open-house meeting with the director and deans, and a written plan of action by 26 September. They also want a clear promise that no one who joined the peaceful protest will face any action.
There are bigger points too – a proper code of conduct for professors, training on mental health for teachers and staff, better counselling, a 24-hour psychiatrist available at the hospital, changes in how the disciplinary committee works, and real student representation with voting rights on important committees. They want a task force with students, teachers, mental-health people and outside experts to look at why so many students are breaking down. And there’s a clause that if these reforms aren’t done within a month, the director and two deans should resign.
Some videos going around claim Kedare has already resigned. The institute hasn’t said anything official and his name is still on the website as director.
Tomorrow (Monday) they’re going to put the details of what was signed in front of all the students in an open house. After that the protesting students will decide if they continue or not. The Board of Governors is also meeting. Classes for Monday have been cancelled so people can focus on this.
That’s where things stand right now. The signature is there, but the students are watching to see if anything actually changes.
Sources: India Today, The Indian Express, Times of India, News18, Hindustan Times, Mathrubhumi, Times Now (reports dated 20–21 September 2026).
IIT-B director signs 18 demands amid calls for his resignation, professor’s suspension
Last night at IIT Bombay, after three full days of students sitting near the main gate, the director, Professor Shireesh Kedare, finally sat down with them for almost three hours. He signed their 18-point list of demands. The whole meeting was live-streamed by the students themselves. That was Sunday night, 20 September.
It all started because of Sahil Wakode. He was a 20-year-old second-year student in Energy Science and Engineering. On Friday evening, 18 September, they found him dead in his hostel room. Earlier that same day he had been caught with his phone in a mid-semester exam. The institute says he put the question paper on an AI tool to get answers. They claim the professor and the department head talked to him, counselled him, and told him it wouldn’t spoil his career. No formal punishment was started.
Sahil’s family and a lot of students say something else happened. They say Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who was invigilating, threatened him with a one-year suspension. The family went to the police and filed a case of abetment of suicide. They also alleged caste discrimination, so the police added the SC/ST Act. The case has now gone to the Crime Branch. The institute completely denies any caste angle and says student caste details are kept secret and no complaint was ever given to their SC/ST cell.
Students had already been angry about the pressure on campus – exams piled up, mental-health support feeling thin, disciplinary rules that scare people. This was the third student death this year. By Saturday more than a hundred of them were at the main gate and they weren’t leaving.
On Sunday night the director and other seniors finally talked through the whole 18-point list. One big demand is that Professor Doolla should be suspended right away. Kedare said they will “follow the process.” Later an official made it clear that signing the paper doesn’t mean every demand happens immediately. The Faculty Forum has come out in support of Doolla, saying he only did his invigilation duty the way the rules say and his name is being dragged unfairly.
The students also want an independent inquiry into Sahil’s death, with students and outside people on the panel. They want an interim report by 30 September and the final one by 15 October. They want a public apology for what they call the defaming of Sahil, an open-house meeting with the director and deans, and a written plan of action by 26 September. They also want a clear promise that no one who joined the peaceful protest will face any action.
There are bigger points too – a proper code of conduct for professors, training on mental health for teachers and staff, better counselling, a 24-hour psychiatrist available at the hospital, changes in how the disciplinary committee works, and real student representation with voting rights on important committees. They want a task force with students, teachers, mental-health people and outside experts to look at why so many students are breaking down. And there’s a clause that if these reforms aren’t done within a month, the director and two deans should resign.
Some videos going around claim Kedare has already resigned. The institute hasn’t said anything official and his name is still on the website as director.
Tomorrow (Monday) they’re going to put the details of what was signed in front of all the students in an open house. After that the protesting students will decide if they continue or not. The Board of Governors is also meeting. Classes for Monday have been cancelled so people can focus on this.
That’s where things stand right now. The signature is there, but the students are watching to see if anything actually changes.
Sources: India Today, The Indian Express, Times of India, News18, Hindustan Times, Mathrubhumi, Times Now (reports dated 20–21 September 2026).
@Rohit Manral
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