A week after IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode died by suicide, students continuing their sit-in protest at the institute held a candlelight march on campus on Friday night to remember the second-year BTech student and others from the institute who have died by suicide in the past.

Sahil, 20, died by suicide on September 18 after he was allegedly found with a mobile phone during a mid-semester examination.

During the peaceful march, protesting students carried a large poster listing 10 demands, including revisions to their earlier charter. They also reiterated their demands for an independent probe and sought wider reforms in student welfare and disciplinary mechanisms.

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The protesting students have now sought the dissolution of the 10-member investigation committee constituted by the IIT Bombay Board of Governors, flagging alleged concerns over its independence, and demanded that it be replaced with an external panel with no current IIT Bombay employees or students.

They have also reiterated their demand for the immediate suspension of Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who caught the alleged exam malpractice, from all responsibilities until the criminal investigation is concluded and sought the resignation of IIT Bombay Director Professor Shireesh Kedare.

Reforms in student welfare centre sought

The students have also demanded that Sahil’s parents be provided safety while visiting the campus and sought reforms in the Student Welfare Centre, including periodic audits and a medically qualified Dean of Students’ Welfare. Their demands for changes to the Disciplinary Action Committee include greater transparency in proceedings, a system to track cases and a graded, reformative disciplinary framework.

The students further sought reconstitution of the SC/ST Cell in accordance with UGC norms, release of its reports from the past three years and action over alleged caste-based attacks on Wakode and his family. Other demands include allowing batchmates to remain on the same hostel floor, a three-day buffer before and after mid-semester examinations, no multiple examinations on the same day, improved working conditions for campus workers and an assurance that no action will be taken against protesting students.

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Sahil’s parents, Ravindra and Sonali, have alleged that he faced caste-based discrimination and pressure on campus. Based on Ravindra’s complaint, the Powai police on September 19 registered a case that names Doolla. While the case has now been transferred to the Crime Branch, the parents have sought that it be transferred to the CBI.

IIT Bombay has constituted a 10-member committee to examine the circumstances surrounding Sahil’s death, and it is expected to submit its report within seven days.

Meanwhile, Sahil’s parents, who began a hunger strike at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan on Thursday demanding arrests in the case, ended it later that night. Their lawyers had said that the parents are likely to resume the protest on Saturday.