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‘Was Simply Discharging Duties’: IIT Bombay, Delhi, Madras Faculty Rally Behind Professor Suryanarayana Doolla
The faculty association urged authorities to avoid premature conclusions and examine whether IIT Bombay’s procedures gave students enough support and safeguards.
On Monday, the IIT Bombay Faculty Forum expressed solidarity with Professor Suryanarayana Doolla following the suicide of student Sahil Wakode on September 18, clarifying the professor remains in "good standing" and has not been suspended.
Doolla served as the invigilator during the examination where Wakode was allegedly found using a mobile phone; he has been "temporarily relieved" of his duties as Dean to facilitate an "independent unbiased investigation."
IIT Madras and IIT Delhi faculty associations have also extended support to Doolla, asserting he was "simply discharging his duties during an examination as per the institute's guidelines" and criticizing media reports as "false and misleading."
While Sahil's family alleged caste-based harassment, the IIT Madras Faculty Association urged that "any inquiry into the incident be conducted by the appropriate institutional and legal authorities in a fair, transparent and time-bound manner."
The IIT Madras Faculty Association further requested an inquiry into "whether institutional procedures for handling academic malpractice give students enough support, counselling and safeguards at moments of acute stress, so that such situations are handled with both integrity and compassion.