MUMBAI: The Mumbai Crime Branch , probing the alleged abetment to suicide of IIT-Bombay second-year student Sahil Wakode , on Thursday recorded the statement of institute professor Suryanarayana Doolla for nearly eight hours, sources said.




Wakode’s family had named Doolla in their complaint to the police and in the FIR, alleging that the professor had harassed their son. According to sources, Doolla denied the allegations during questioning. The police are now likely to summon IIT-Bombay director Shireesh Kedare to record his statement as part of the investigation.




Doolla was questioned at a Crime Branch unit in the western suburbs over the allegations made by Wakode’s family following the student’s death. Investigators questioned him about the events leading up to Wakode’s death and his interactions with the student.




Wakode was found hanging in his hostel room on the IIT-Bombay campus in Powai on September 18, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone during a mid-semester examination. The Crime Branch is examining CCTV footage from the examination hall as part of its investigation.




According to investigators, the footage from around 12.30pm to 12.45pm shows Wakode inside the examination hall as the mid-semester examination was nearing its end. He is allegedly seen bending down and looking at a mobile phone kept in his pocket. The footage also reportedly shows Doolla questioning Wakode and asking him to leave the examination hall.




Police are also investigating the allegation that Wakode used ChatGPT to answer questions during the examination. The circumstances surrounding the examination and the events that followed are part of the ongoing probe.