IIT-B director Shireesh Kedare questioned for 10 hours over student suicide; cops ask about caste abuse, ChatGPT use

During questioning, Doolla told investigators that he had followed IIT Bombay’s guidelines while dealing with the student.

A day after IIT Bombay professor Suryanarayana Doolla was interrogated by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch for around eight hours, institute director Shireesh B Kedare was questioned for nearly 10 hours on Friday in connection with the suicide of the 22-year-old student on campus last month. Kedare has been named by the student’s father, Ravindra Wakode, in his police complaint alleging caste-based abuse and harassment.

IIT-B director Shireesh B Kedare.

During questioning, Doolla told investigators that he had followed IIT Bombay’s guidelines while dealing with the student. He also denied making caste-related or derogatory remarks during their interaction.

A senior Crime Branch officer said Kedare was questioned about the alleged caste-based abuse, the procedure followed by the institute after the student was caught copying and using ChatGPT during the examination, and whether he had received any complaint from the student about alleged caste bias.

“Doolla has been already sent on leave by IIT-Bombay to facilitate an impartial probe. He was also removed as the dean of Administrative Affairs at the institute after he was named in the FIR registered at Powai police station,” the officer said.

Police said both Doolla and Kedare have denied the allegations of caste-based discrimination and harassment and maintained that they followed the stipulated procedure after the student was allegedly caught copying. “We will decide about the further course of action after examining all relevant aspects,” the officer said.

The Crime Branch has so far recorded statements of around 40 people, including the student’s friends, hostel staff and other institute employees. Police have also seized his mobile phone to examine his online activities and conversations. The pattern-locked iPhone could not be opened and has been sent to the forensic science laboratory.

Police said the student had spoken to a female friend and regretted copying after he was allegedly caught during the examination. When he stopped answering her calls, she contacted his friends, who went to check on him and found him hanging in his hostel room.

The student, a second-year BTech student of IIT-B’s Department of Energy Science and Engineering, died on September 18, hours after he was allegedly caught using his mobile phone to access ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination.

Following Wakode’s complaint, Powai police registered an FIR against Doolla and other IIT-Bombay officials under Section 108 (abetment to suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 3(1)(r), 3(1)(s) and 3(5) of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Wakode alleged that his son had told him during their last meeting that Doolla had been abusing him over the previous three months because they belonged to a Scheduled Caste. He also alleged that Doolla had threatened to implicate his son in a false case and was acting at Kedare’s behest.

Meanwhile, IIT-Bombay students protesting on campus for the past 15 days began a two-day hunger strike at Justice Corner on Friday, demanding action from the institute. They have sought Doolla’s immediate suspension from all responsibilities until the criminal investigation concludes and demanded that the institute’s existing investigation committee be dissolved and replaced with an independent panel.

The Wakode family has demanded Doolla’s immediate arrest, alleging that he was responsible for the untimely death of their son.