Mumbai: The hunger strike of the parents of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode entered the second day on Tuesday with their lawyer claiming that no government representative had approached them yet. Union minister Ramdas Athawale spoke to them over phone and assured them of justice for their son who died by suicide.
Seeking the arrest of those responsible for Sahil's death, his parents Ravindra and Sonali Wakode, hailing from Yavatmal in eastern Maharashtra, sat on a makeshift stage at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, holding their son's photograph with a message seeking justice for him.
A few people joined them at the site.
Advocate Nikhil Kamble, their lawyer, said no one from the government side had approached them so far.
Wakode (22), a second-year student, was found dead in his hostel room on the Indian Institute of Technoloy (IIT) Bombay campus on the evening of September 18.
He had been caught while allegedly using his mobile phone to access ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination earlier that day.
His parents alleged that he had complained about caste discrimination at the prestigious institute.
They have been demanding the arrest of Professor Suryanarayana Doolla who has been named in the First Information Report (FIR) registered by police for alleged abetment to suicide, and IIT Bombay Director Shireesh Kedare.
The parents have said they would continue their protest until their son gets justice and those responsible are punished.
The IIT Bombay board has constituted a 10-member committee to inquire into the circumstances surrounding Sahil's death, while the Crime Branch of Mumbai Police is carrying out an investigation.
Prof Doolla, a faculty member, has been sent on leave.
"Until Doolla and Kedare are arrested, the hunger strike will continue," Ravindra Wakode told reporters on Monday evening.
Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday spoke to Sahil's parents.
“We will definitely ensure justice for your son,” the minister, a prominent Dalit leader from Maharashtra, told Ravindra Wakode during the phone call.
Action should be taken against those responsible for the suicide, Athawale said.
The Crime Branch has been examining CCTV recordings and other evidence to reconstruct the sequence of events on September 18.
As per the probe, Sahil, before taking his life, had allegedly regretted the 'cheating attempt' during the exam while talking to a female friend over phone.
Students protesting on the campus have demanded changes to the inquiry process and raised concerns over student welfare and grievance redressal mechanisms.