Mumbai: The father of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode, who allegedly died by suicide, was denied permission to continue his protest at Azad Maidan, prompting him to plan a visit to the institute's Powai campus, his lawyer said on Saturday.
The development comes at a time when a group of IIT Bombay students intensified their ongoing agitation over Sahil's death by launching a hunger strike on Friday to demand accountability from the institute administration.
According to the family lawyer, the police did not permit Ravindra Wakode to stage a protest at Azad Maidan and he was planning to go to IIT Bombay.
The Wakode couple had launched a hunger strike last week seeking "justice" for their deceased son and demanding the arrest of Professor Suryanarayana Doolla and IIT-B director Shireesh Kedare.
Sahil Wakode, a 22-year-old second-year BTech student, was found hanging in his hostel room on September 18, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone during a mid-semester examination. His parents have alleged that he faced caste-based discrimination at the institute.
An FIR was registered by the Powai police against Professor Doolla for alleged abetment to suicide and invoking provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after Ravindra Wakode lodged a complaint.
The Wakode family, meanwhile, met Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal, the party's city unit chief Varsha Gaikwad and other party leaders, and discussed the case.
On Thursday, the crime branch, which is probing the case, questioned Professor Doolla for nearly 10 hours and recorded his statement. Police have recorded statements of around 40 people, including Sahil's parents, fellow students and IIT hostel staff, while electronic devices belonging to the deceased student have been sent for forensic examination, according to reports.