MUMBAI: Hours before the parents of IIT-Bombay student who died by suicide were scheduled to begin a hunger strike outside the institute’s Powai campus, they alleged that they were forcibly taken out of Mumbai in a private car against their wishes early Wednesday and driven to Washim district, around 555km from Mumbai.
After they left the IIT-Bombay campus, some men in plain clothes asked the family to shift to another vehicle, according to a person accompanying the family in the car. The person said he was unaware of the men’s names but joined the family in the private car. He said a police vehicle was following them but disappeared after they entered the Samruddhi Expressway.
They alleged that the driver kept telling them he was taking them home. Instead, they wanted to stay in Mumbai and continue their protest over their son’s death. The family later asked the driver to stop so they could use the washroom and got out of the vehicle. By early Wednesday morning, they had reached the Karanja Lad area in Washim district.
In a video shared on social media that has now gone viral, the family said they repeatedly asked the driver where they were being taken. The family said they were tired and sleepy at the time. The student’s father also alleged that they had clearly told the people accompanying them that they did not want to return home.
The family said they had wanted to remain in Mumbai and begin their hunger strike outside IIT-Bombay on Wednesday morning, demanding the immediate arrest of named faculty members professor Suryanarayana Doolla and institute director Shireesh Kedare.
