IIT Bombay professor Suryanarayana Doolla has been asked to proceed on leave by the institute’s Board of Governors as a 10-member committee examines the circumstances surrounding the death of BTech student Sahil Wakode.

The decision comes amid protests by students and demands for an independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Wakode’s death.

Professor named in family’s complaint

Doolla was serving as the invigilator during the examination in which Wakode was allegedly found using a mobile phone. He was subsequently named in an FIR filed by Wakode’s family, which has alleged caste-based harassment and abetment to suicide.

The allegations are under investigation by the Mumbai Crime Branch and have not been established.

Two days before the latest decision, IIT Bombay had removed Doolla from his position as Dean of Administrative Affairs. At the time, the institute said he would continue as a professor in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering.

Panel given one week to submit report

The 10-member committee is headed by Professor Ramesh Venkateswaran, Chairman of the Board of Governors at IIT Palakkad. It has been asked to submit its report within a week.

The panel includes faculty members, three students, an administrator, a former vigilance officer and a psychiatrist. Among its members are Professor K Narayanan, Professor Sandip Kumar Saha, Professor Deepti Kalsi, student representatives Aditya Joshi, Dev Arora and research scholar Devi Lal.

Retired IAS officer Vishwanath Giriraj, former institute vigilance officer Professor K G Suresh and psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty are also part of the committee.

Wakode, a second-year BTech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found dead in his hostel room on September 18, following an incident during a mid-semester examination.

IIT Bombay initially said he had been found using a mobile phone during the examination. The institute later apologised for its communication, saying it was inappropriate to characterise events before they were established through an investigation.

The Mumbai Crime Branch is continuing its probe into the case.