‘Papa, I am being tortured’: IIT Bombay student’s mother recalls son’s words days before death

The mother of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode, who died by suicide last week, has alleged that her son had told his parents he was being "tortured" and subjected to casteist slurs at the institute.

Reiterating the family's claim that Wakode was subjected to systematic institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination, his mother, Sonali Wakode, said the family had tried to encourage the youngster to put up with the situation by reminding him that he had a bright future ahead. She now regrets that decision, saying they should instead have taken him home.

"I have lost my child. I know the pain I am going through. Please give justice to my son. Please ensure justice for the atrocities committed against him," Sonali told reporters, according to news agency ANI.

She said Sahil had spoken about the alleged treatment when his parents visited him on September 13.

"When we went to visit him on the 13th, inside his room, he told me, 'Papa, I am being tortured a bit; they are hurling casteist slurs at me,'" she said.

According to Sonali, the parents responded by offering him moral support and encouraging him to go on. "We supported him mentally, telling him, 'Your future is bright, son; just endure this'—that was our mistake. If we had taken him away that day, my child would be alive today," she said.

"Why is it that Dalit students are the ones committing suicide?" she asked.

Sonali made an emotional appeal for justice for her son. "I am a mother and a teacher. I have lost my child, and only a mother can understand how much pain I am going through," she said.

"Please ensure that he gets justice. I know how talented my child was. I appeal to all of you with folded hands and beg you to give my child justice," she added.

She also expressed confidence in the investigation and the institutions dealing with the case. "I trust the Crime Branch. I have full faith in the administration and in the Constitution. My child will get justice," she said.

Her remarks are in stark contrast to the claims made by IIT Bombay Faculty Forum president Dr Rajkumar Pant, who had said that Wakode had not approached the institute's SC/ST cell with any complaint in the recent past.

Sahil's father Ravindra Wakode also said his son had been suffering and expressed regret over advising him to tolerate the situation at IIT Bombay. "He was suffering. I explained to him that my son should tolerate IIT a little, and after this, his whole life would be good. I made a mistake by telling him this," he said.

Ravindra demanded that IIT Bombay Director Shireesh Kedare and dean Suryanarayana Doolla be questioned and arrested, saying the investigation should be completed as quickly as possible.

"The accused in the case should be questioned and arrested. Only after the arrest will everything come out," he said.

The Mumbai Police have booked Doolla under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, following a complaint lodged by Sahil's family.

The deceased’s father also rejected allegations that his son had cheated in the JEE Advanced examination. "Sahil was a bright student. Cracking the JEE Advanced exam is not an ordinary achievement. Look at his All India rank," he said, alleging that claims about cheating in JEE Advanced were an attempt to divert attention from the case.

Sahil, a second-year BTech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found hanging in his hostel room on the IIT Bombay campus on the evening of September 18.

According to officials, his death came hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone to access ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination.