‘Are they being humiliated?’: Union Minister Athawale questions suicides by SC students

Mumbai, Sep 25 (IANS) In the wake of the unnatural death of an IIT Bombay student, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Social Justice and Empowerment and RPI-A chief Ramdas Athawale on Friday flagged the growing number of student suicides at the prestigious institute, while questioning whether attempts were being made to “humiliate” Scheduled Caste students, forcing them to take the extreme step.

The Union Minister raised the question during a visit to the IIT Powai campus, where second-year student Sahil Wakode committed suicide earlier this month, allegedly over caste-based discrimination and harassment, as claimed by his parents.

“At least four students have committed suicide here in the last two to three years. Out of those, three students were from the Scheduled Caste community. So, the question of whether any discrimination is taking place here was also raised by us during a meeting with the Dean. Why are Scheduled Caste students committing suicide? Is there an attempt being made to humiliate them?” Athawale said while speaking to reporters.

He spoke about writing to Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi regarding the incident.

“I am also going to write a letter to Pralhad Joshi, our Minister, and will be meeting him as well. Why is this happening in an institution like IIT? Why are students committing suicide? Extremely bright students come here, securing their ranks among lakhs of candidates,” Athawale said.

Further, the RPI-A chief demanded the immediate suspension of Prof Suryanarayana Doolla, who was the invigilator in the examination where Sahil was allegedly caught cheating and had subsequently confiscated his mobile phone.

“We have made this demand, and a full investigation should also be conducted independent of the IIT administration,” he added.

Also, Athawale added he had visited the deceased student’s hostel room, but it was locked due to the ongoing police investigation into the case.

“Getting admission to an IIT is very difficult. Among at least 1.5 million students, he (Wakode) was ranked around 631st on the merit list. He was a smart boy. However, on the 18th, during his semester exam, the professor raised an objection against him, claiming he was copying, and confiscated his mobile phone. After that, he committed suicide,” he said.

“I believe there must be a thorough investigation into Sahil Wakode’s suicide. Strict action must be taken against whoever is responsible, whether professors, the Dean, or anyone else. We have demanded this, as this incident is extremely tragic and unacceptable at IIT,” he stated.

The Union Minister mentioned that Wakode’s parents have demanded to see the full CCTV footage of the examination hall.

His parents earlier claimed that only a part of it has been revealed to the media, where they are unable to identify their son and that the visuals do not establish anything conclusively.

–IANS

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