Mumbai Police files FIR against IIT-B professor Suryanarayan Doolla, charging him with abetment to suicide and violations of the Scheduled Castes and Schedules Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act. Parents allege caste discrimination.
On Saturday, the Mumbai Police filed a first information report (FIR) against Professor Suryanarayan Doolla at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B), following the suicide of student Sahil Wakode. The police accused Professor Doolla and unidentified individuals of abetment to suicide under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act.
According to The Times of India, during an examination on Friday, IIT-Bombay found Wakode using a mobile phone and uploading the question paper on ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot, to seek answers. Professor Doolla, who was reportedly the invigilator at the time, was not mentioned in the disciplinary action taken against Wakode, as the institute stated that no such action occurred.
IIT-Bombay also noted that the matter was discussed with Wakode by instructors and department heads, who counseled him and assured him that the incident would not negatively impact his academic career. The institute extended support to Wakode’s family and friends and is investigating the circumstances surrounding the student's death.
Wakode’s parents have alleged that their son was threatened with suspension. In his complaint to The Indian Express, Ravindra Wakode, the student's father, claimed that Professor Doolla had subjected his son to caste discrimination for the past three months on the instructions of IIT-Bombay's director, Professor Shireesh B Kedare.
However, Professor Kedare denied any caste discrimination in the case, stating that no caste-based information is available for anyone at the institute. The institute’s Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Cell also did not receive a complaint of caste discrimination from Wakode.
Source:
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