Mumbai, Oct 18: Twenty-two IIT Bombay students, including eight who were allegedly detained twice in a single day, were picked up by the police from inside the campus on Sunday amid their ongoing protest demanding justice for deceased Sahil Wakode, student bodies said.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke condemned the alleged action, saying police were “stooping low” every single day.
Protesters from IIT B and student collectives alleged that police used extreme force during the crackdown, tearing their clothes, kicking and choking them. All detained students were taken to the Powai police station, they said.
Police and IIT B authorities are yet to issue a detailed official statement regarding the scale of the detentions and the allegations of excessive force.
Students have been protesting near the campus gates in the Powai area for a month, including a 15-day hunger strike, raising allegations of caste discrimination and institutional apathy surrounding the death of 22-year-old Sahil Wakode.
The second-year B.Tech student was found dead in his hostel room on September 18 after allegedly being caught cheating during a mid-semester exam. Sunday marked one month since his alleged suicide, prompting students to plan a memorial and a ‘mashal juloos’ (torchlight procession).
Student representatives alleged that police barged into the campus in large numbers in the morning. After an initial detention and brief release, students gathered at the protest site, alongside Wakode’s grieving parents to pay tribute, they said.
The protesters alleged that the campus security and police subsequently dismantled the protest site and forcibly removed the participants. They also claimed that female students faced inappropriate touching and physical assault. A total of 22 students were detained, they said.
The demonstrators also targeted the IIT Bombay administration over the deployment of police inside the campus, asking who authorised it.
Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad and representatives of several Ambedkarite organisations subsequently reached the spot and staged a demonstration demanding an immediate meeting with the Chairperson of the Board of Governors and the Director.
While officials from the Powai police station were not immediately available for comment, the institute authorities were yet to share their response to the detentions and allegations of excessive force. (PTI)