Now Reading: IIT Bombay postpones mid-semester exams after student death
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IIT Bombay postpones mid-semester exams after student death
Corrected 1 October 2026: source list (India Today video pages removed; they are not articles).
The Story in Brief
IIT Bombay on Thursday, 24 September postponed mid-semester examinations scheduled for 26 and 27 September to 10 and 11 October, days after second-year BTech student Sahil Wakode died by suicide on 18 September. The institute said the exams will follow the same timetable on the new dates. The additional time will let a newly constituted committee consult students and draft revised invigilation rules for handling suspected academic misconduct, Hindustan Times reports.
The Mumbai Crime Branch continues its investigation into Wakode's death. The student's parents have alleged caste-based harassment by Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who was sent on leave after a case was registered against him for abetment of suicide and caste discrimination. A 10-member Board of Governors committee, headed by IIT-Palakkad BoG chairman Professor Ramesh Venkateswaran, is to submit a report within seven days.
Update, 30 September 2026: IIT Bombay has postponed its mid-semester exams from 26 to 27 September to 10 to 11 October, NDTV, India TV, Hindustan Times and Siasat report. The institute cited the need for a revised invigilation SOP after the death of Sahil Wakode. Hindustan Times adds that IIT Delhi and Madras faculty have publicly defended Professor Doolla, while Siasat reports Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad was detained at a protest. Siasat also reports a 2024 email from Doolla cautioning students against asking about reservation categories.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Coverage of the exam postponement is uniform across new sources: NDTV, India TV, Hindustan Times and Siasat all confirm the shift to 10 to 11 October and the committee revising invigilation rules. The split emerges on the professor: Hindustan Times reports that IIT Delhi and Madras faculty have publicly defended Doolla, while Siasat notes a 2024 email in which Doolla himself warned students against asking about reservation categories. The former frames Doolla as a dutiful official, the latter as a figure already alert to caste sensitivity before the incident. Neither version is wrong, together they show a single person viewed through opposite lenses of institutional role and conduct history. The 10-member Board of Governors committee has seven days to report, which will be the first formal finding to resolve these competing accounts.
Corrected 1 October 2026: source list (India Today video pages removed; they are not articles).
Coverage: 7 sources, 2 government-critical, 5 neutral
Sources (7): thestatesman.com (neutral report), awazthevoice.in (neutral report), newindianexpress.com (government critical), ndtv.com (neutral report), indiatvnews.com (neutral report), hindustantimes.com (neutral report), siasat.com (government critical)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 7 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
