IIT-Bombay professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who was the invigilator during an examination in which a student was caught cheating, was suspended from his position as dean of administrative affairs at the Powai campus following the student’s death by suicide.
Following the uproar over the student’s suicide, Doolla has been charged with abetment to suicide and alleged discrimination on the basis of caste. The incident triggered protests on campus after the student’s family alleged he was subjected to institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination before he took the extreme step.
“There is an apprehension among faculty members regarding the conduct of evaluations and maintaining academic integrity due to the circumstances that prevailed at IIT-Bombay. IIT-Delhi Faculty Forum appeals to the student community, their families, and the entire nation to extend their support so that the faculty can discharge its duties in maintaining the integrity and fairness of the entire IIT system,” it said.
“The forum expresses solidarity with Prof Doolla, his students, and the family, and condemns the tarnishing of his reputation,” the IIT-Delhi Faculty Forum said in a statement, according to a PTI report.
