Mumbai, September 21, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Monday criticised the handling of protests at IIT Bombay following the death of a second-year student, describing the reported sacking of professors as a “band-aid solution”.
Chaturvedi said the student’s death was a tragic reminder that premier institutions such as the IITs need to examine their campus environment and address concerns related to student mental health.
Taking to X, she said that while the student’s death was “extremely unfortunate”, removing professors to end the protests would not address the larger issues involved.
“While the death of the IIT Bombay student is extremely unfortunate and yet another reminder that these premier institutions need to work on the campus environment and mental health but to sack the professors to end the protests is just a band-aid solution to a problem that needs surgery,” Chaturvedi said.
She also questioned the attribution of the incident to caste discrimination, saying that professors who were reportedly performing their duty by reporting copying during an examination were being blamed.
“Also, shifting the blame on the professors who were doing their job of reporting copying during an exam and making it about caste discrimination is a sad outcome,” she added.
The second-year student, identified as Sahil Wakode from Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, was found dead on the IIT Bombay campus in Powai on September 18.
Wakode was pursuing his second year in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at IIT Bombay. The incident reportedly occurred after he was caught using a mobile phone during an examination.
His death a few hours after the incident triggered protests by students on the Powai campus.
Following the death and the subsequent demonstrations, Mumbai Police registered a case against his teacher, Satyanarayan Dalla, on Saturday.
According to officials, a complaint was also filed against faculty members, senior officials and other authorities of IIT Bombay under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The protests intensified at the gates of the IIT Bombay campus, with students raising concerns over the circumstances surrounding the death and the institute’s response.
The protesters also submitted a list of 18 demands, including the resignation of key administrative officials, mandatory mental health workshops for faculty members and the immediate sacking of professors allegedly involved in the incident.
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