Mumbai: The parents of IIT-B student Sahil Wakode, who died by suicide, went on a hunger strike at Azad Maidan on Thursday evening and put forward a series of demands, including a CBI probe and the arrest of Prof Suryanarayana Doolla, who has been named as accused in the abetment to suicide case. The family ended their strike in the night but said they would restart it if Doolla is not arrested.The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) visited IIT-B on Thursday and asked officials to furnish a detailed action taken/investigation report.Earlier in the day, leader of opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi spoke to the Wakodes over phone and assured them of support in their “fight for justice.”Siddharth Ingle, one of the lawyers representing the family, said the parents would visit the crime branch on Friday to seek the status of the case. “If the accused is not arrested, we will continue with the strike on Saturday, either at Azad Maidan or at IIT,” Ingle said.Police said they had granted a day’s permission for hunger strike at Azad Maidan for Thursday. “We will grant permission if they approach us,” a police officer said.The parents have also demanded securing and preserving of the entire CCTV footage and all original electronic evidence and sought a separate probe into the leak of ‘selective’ CCTV footage. They have demanded the family be kept informed of material developments and extended all rights, protection, relief and assistance available to victims and their dependents under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.The Wakodes had originally planned to sit on a hunger strike outside IIT-B’s Powai campus. Mumbai police stopped them at Bhandup and asked them to shift the agitation to Azad Maidan. Before heading there, the Wakodes met Kishor Makwana, chairperson of NCSC, and submitted their demands.During the day, Youth Congress politicians Uday Bhanu Chib, Zinat Shabreen and Shivraj More met with the Wakode family, and they arranged the parents’ communication with Rahul Gandhi on the phone. A delegation led by Youth Congress national president Uday Bhanu Chib met city joint commissioner of police Manojkumar Sharma and sought action against “those responsible for Sahil’s death.”The family has alleged that on Tuesday night, after police learnt of their plans to protest outside the institute, the parents and their advocate Nikhil Kamble were taken in a private vehicle and driven out of Mumbai against their wishes. They reached Karanja Lad in Washim district early Wednesday before turning around and beginning the journey back to Mumbai. By Thursday, the family had returned to the city and was again heading towards Powai to begin the hunger strike. Before they could reach the IIT-B campus, police intercepted them in the Bhandup area and took them into custody as a “precautionary measure”. They were later taken to Sahyadri Guest House, where they met Makwana.IIT-B deleted its earlier statement about Sahil’s death from social media and then reposted it again, setting a flurry of posts on social media throughout the day.The 10-member panel appointed by the IITB board of governors has started working on the investigation and meeting faculty and students.The police said they have recorded statements of around two dozen people, including two students and other staff at the institute. Wakode’s mobile phone was locked, and it has been sent to the forensic science laboratory for cyber analysis.
