Twenty-one IIT Bombay faculty members have sought an explanation from the institute’s director over what they described as “unprecedented” police action against students protesting on campus, including two rounds of detention and the alleged dismantling of their protest site.
The letter was sent on Monday, a day after students were detained from the campus protest site, known as “Justice Corner”. A small group of students has been protesting for more than a month following the death by suicide of second-year BTech student Sahil Wakode on September 18. The protesters have been seeking action and accountability from the institute.
According to the faculty members, police entered the campus and detained students who had been protesting peacefully for several weeks. They asked the administration to clarify which institute functionary, if any, authorised the police action. If no such authorisation was given, they sought to know whether IIT Bombay would file a first information report against the police officers responsible for what they called an “act of violence”.
The faculty letter also questioned the alleged use of force during both rounds of detention and the reported absence of institute officials when students sought assistance. The faculty members said they had learnt that detained students attempted to contact the dean of student affairs, the Quick Response Team and the chief security officer, but that their requests were not entertained and no institute functionary came to the police station.
The letter further raised questions about the reported removal of banners and posters from the protest site. It said the display included images of social reformers Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule, as well as Dr B R Ambedkar. Faculty members also sought an explanation for the alleged withholding of students’ personal belongings, including laptops, and asked whether due procedure had been followed when the items were seized.
Sahil Wakode’s parents, Ravindra and Sonali Wakode, who visited IIT Bombay to pay homage to him, alleged that they were forcibly taken to Azad Maidan police station and detained until 6pm. The faculty members’ letter acknowledged that members of the institute community held differing views about the protest, with some considering it irrelevant or damaging to IIT Bombay’s reputation, while others saw it as a call for the institute to examine its educational responsibilities amid its history of student suicides.
IIT Bombay authorities did not comment on the faculty letter, according to the report. Sources cited in the report said police had come to the campus because Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad planned to visit. The institute had not responded to her letter seeking permission for the visit, which coincided with the visit by Wakode’s parents.
The sources also claimed that students jeering at police shortly before Gaikwad and Wakode’s parents arrived had prompted the detentions. On the belongings, they said the items had been left at the gate and were obstructing the entrance. The institute plans to return them to the students under its lost-and-found standard operating procedure, according to the sources.
