IIT-Bombay suicide case: Cops checking if institute followed its cheating SOP

Hours before his death, Wakode was allegedly caught using a phone during an exam.

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MUMBAI: The crime branch is examining whether IIT-B’s prescribed standard operating procedure (SOP) for dealing with students caught cheating using unauthorised material during exams was followed in Sahil Wakode’s case.Hours before his death, Wakode was allegedly caught using a phone during an exam.According to IIT-B’s academic disciplinary procedures, any unauthorised material or device is to be confiscated, the student may be provided a fresh answer book to complete the exam, and an invigilator’s report is to be prepared.The matter is then examined by the departmental academic disciplinary action committee, or the academic disciplinary action committee in more serious cases, to determine the violation and the appropriate penalty.The invigilator who reports such alleged misconduct cannot be part of the disciplinary panel, as per the SOP.IIT-B sources earlier told TOI that Wakode was caught cheating close to the end of the exam and was, therefore, not given another answer sheet.Police have recorded the statements of about a dozen student witnesses. Some of them said they saw Wakode and Suryanarayana Doolla conversing after the exam.Police have so far not found any material establishing the allegations of months-long harassment by Doolla.Police are examining security and frisking procedures at the exam hall to ascertain how a phone could have been carried inside. The probe is also reconstructing Wakode’s movements after the exam.