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Even as classes resumed at IIT Bombay and the Mumbai Police continues its investigation into the suicide of second year student Sahil Wakode, a CCTV clip purportedly showing students inside an examination hall at the insitute has gone viral on social media.
The purported CCTV footage which bears a time stamp of September 18, 12:37 pm shows one of the students sitting in the front row leave the exam hall while others continue with the test. The identity of the student is unclear from the footage and cannot be independently verified, social media accounts however claim that the student seen exiting the hall is the late Sahil Wakode. The development comes amid a dispute over the circumstances preceding Sahil's death and allegations of caste-based harassment levelled by his family against Professor Suryanarayan Doolla and others. In an statement which was later retracted IIT Bombay had claimed that Sahil Wakode was caught cheating during the examination and counselled by the invigilator Professor Doolla. According to the preliminary investigation by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch , CCTV cameras recorded Sahil's movements inside the examination hall between 12:30 PM and 12:45 PM on September 18. With around 15 minutes remaining for the examination to conclude, Sahil was seen bending down to look at something kept in his pocket. Subsequently, a professor questioned him and took him aside, away from the other students, according to the police. "After leaving the examination hall, Sahil moved across the campus. He reached his hostel room at approximately 1:25 PM. He did not step out of the room thereafter," the Crime Branch official said.The probe is being conducted by an ACP-rank officer under the supervision of DCP Detection-I, Crime Branch. Police have urged people to refrain from speculation and drawing premature conclusions.IIT-Bombay has also constituted a 10-member committee to examine the circumstances surrounding Sahil's death. Professor Doolla has been relieved of his administrative responsibilities and sent on leave pending the inquiry. Meanwhile, Professor Doolla has got the backing of various present and former colleagues who have raised objection about his deanship being suspended by the institute. Former IIT-Bombay Board of Governors Chairman Sharad Kumar Saraf said, "Professor Doolla is totally innocent. There is no iota of evidence against him, and still he is being mentally tortured and treated like a criminal, which is very offensive. In fact, it is very shameful and very bad. I have known Professor Doolla. During my tenure as Chairman of the Board of Governors of IIT, he was the Dean of Students' Affairs, one of the most upright professors that we have, a highly decorated, award-winning professor. And he took a lot of initiatives for the well-being of the students. And never, ever in his career was there a case of any discrimination or caste or anything. Even in this present case also. There was never any discussion about caste. Now suddenly his parents have started raising this issue two days after his death, which is very unfortunate."Sahil, a second-year BTech student of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, died by suicide on September 18. His family has alleged harassment and caste-based discrimination, while the institute has maintained that the examination incident is being investigated. (ANI)
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