IIT Bombay Parents Start Hunger Strike Over Son’s Death and Alleged Caste Abuse

Parents of a 20‑year‑old BTech student at IIT Bombay began a hunger strike at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, pressing for a fast investigation into their son’s death. The student was discovered lifeless in his hostel on September 18, just hours after staff said he was caught with a mobile phone during an exam. The father told reporters that anyone responsible for his son’s suffering should be jailed, adding that the boy had repeatedly spoken about caste‑based bias at the institute. The couple later met the chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes in Mumbai and handed over a memorandum demanding a swift probe. They had planned to start the strike outside the IIT campus in Powai on Wednesday morning, naming professor Suryanarayana Doolla and director Shireesh Kedare as the two faculty members they wanted arrested. However, the family says they were taken against their will in a private car early Wednesday and driven about 555 km to Washim district. In a video that went viral, the parents repeatedly asked the driver where they were headed, but he kept saying he was taking them home. The family said they were tired and sleepy, yet they insisted they wanted to stay in Mumbai to begin their protest at the institute’s gate.