Sahil Wakode’s father continued his hunger strike at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan on Monday, demanding the arrest of IIT Bombay professor Suryanarayana Doolla and director Shireesh Kedare. On the tenth day of his protest, he said no inquiry panel member had contacted the family. Allegations of caste-based harassment and abetment of suicide remain under investigation.
Sahil Wakode’s father said on Monday that he would continue his hunger strike until IIT Bombay professor Suryanarayana Doolla and institute director Shireesh Kedare were arrested. On the tenth day of his protest at Azad Maidan, he also said that no member of the institute’s inquiry panel had contacted the family.
Father Seeks Arrests
“Until both are arrested, my hunger strike will continue,” he said. Asked about the rules requiring protesters to leave Azad Maidan at a specified time, he said he would comply with them while continuing his fast.
Wakode’s father said he had met an SC/ST commission official, but no government delegation had visited him. Political leaders had come to express support, he said. Members of the family of Darshan Solanki, an IIT Bombay student who died in 2023, had also visited, though he said they had not spoken at length.
Calls For Detailed Probe
He urged investigators to examine the allegations of caste-based harassment and abetment of suicide in the police case. “This case is not simply about whether Sahil took a phone into an examination or copied,” he said. “Why was he driven to take his life, and how did it happen? That needs to be investigated.” The allegations against those named in the case remain under investigation.
