NEW DELHI: IIT Bombay faculty forum president and professor Rajkumar Pant has rejected allegations against professor Suryanarayana Doolla following the death of second-year BTech student Sahil Wakode, saying the institute’s SC/ST cell had no record of the student approaching it with a complaint in the months preceding his death.Pant said he spoke to IIT Bombay deputy director professor Ravindra Gudi, who confirmed that the SC/ST cell had issued a notice stating that there had been no attempt by Sahil to approach the cell in the previous three or four months.“There was absolutely no attempt by the late Sahil to approach the cell over the last three or four months. No complaint was recorded by him — forget about a formal complaint; he had not even approached the SC/ST cell for anything,” Pant said.‘Doolla acted as per institute rules’Addressing allegations against Professor Doolla, Pant said faculty members were required to discharge their duties in accordance with institute procedures and defended Doolla’s actions in the matter.
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“We are teachers, and we are discharging our duties as mandated by the institute while following institute procedures. Professor Doolla did the same,” he said.Pant said Doolla had previously served as dean of student affairs before taking up his current position as dean of academic affairs and described him as someone known for being helpful to students.“To expect that a person of his nature — who is known to be very helpful to students — would do this is unreasonable,” Pant said.He said there could be situations where faculty members had to act firmly and that Doolla had acted according to the rules.“I’m personally convinced that he is not the kind of person who would indulge in these kinds of acts,” Pant said.His remarks come amid protests by IIT Bombay students following Sahil’s death. Student representatives have said their protest was not intended to justify cheating or academic misconduct, but was aimed at raising concerns over institutional systems and seeking reforms.