New Delhi: On October 18, marking the one month anniversary of Sahil Wakode’s death by suicide, a fresh wave of harassment began for students protesting at IIT Bombay. While the clampdown had existed in subtler forms, it has now mutated into an exhibition of brute force. Students were violently detained from campus grounds by the Mumbai Police, beaten in buses, the protest site was destroyed and their private property – which includes laptops, room keys and critical medication – remains in the custody of the administration. The students are continuing the protest, which has now taken the shape of a sit-in at what is referred to as IIT Bombay’s “main building.” The fight for justice for Wakode exists as distinct protests – one unfolding at Azad Maidan, where his parents were on hunger strike, and another on campus, where a handful of students are continuing the same battle for accountability. Protest posters from IIT-B students. Photo: Instagram/@justice4sahilLast Saturday marked a first in the institute’s history – detention buses had been parked on campus grounds and students were picked up from within. Taking place outside the gate was a parallel protest by left groups, who were also detained. Students highlighted the difference in protests, and the egregious nature of their on-campus detention. The days since October 18 have been structured by opacity and repression. The director has not met the group of about 20-30 protesting students, and their belongings appear to be suspended in limbo. What is taking place at IIT Bombay is akin to a pattern that can be observed throughout the country – young, peaceful protesters are interpreted and treated as criminals. Two rounds of detentionThere were two rounds of detention that took place last Saturday. It had been decided that the students would assemble at 11 AM for Sahil’s memorial. When they arrived, they saw that campus streets were streaked with police buses. A few protesters began questioning police officers, asking why they were inside the campus. They informed the police that the protest had been restricted to the campus, and should also be managed within its boundaries, not by outside forces. Around this time, according to the testimonies of students, IIT Bombay Director Shireesh B. Kedare and the Chief Security Officer arrived at the main gate. Students said that the duo looked on as a group of eight students were detained and taken to the Powai Police Station. The Wire has emailed the director a questionnaire. This report will be updated if he responds. A student showing their injury. Photo: By arrangement.“We started recording and asked the director to say something. Students were being picked from his campus, but all that happened was the police tried to snatch our phones,” said one. The student added that to detain eight students, about 50 police officers were dispatched. In the bus, they said that they were told by the police that the administration had given them permission to enter the campus, as well as to detain students. They were in the police station for about 30 minutes, after which they were taken back to campus. The students then returned to the protest site where Wakode’s parents – Ravindra and Sonali Wakode – were sitting. Sahil’s parents were supposed to meet the Chairman of the Board of Governors, Dr K. Radhakrishnan, that day, but were told that he had been hospitalized due to a medical emergency. The parents then submitted a letter to the registrar instead. A portrait of Sahil was garlanded and blessed by a Buddhist monk. The Wakodes were detained soon after, along with their lawyer. Layers of harassmentMeanwhile, 22 protesting students and those outside the campus were also picked up. Students have pointed out that this round of detention was particularly violent. They were dragged and pushed into buses. Photographs and videos show aggrieved students inside the bus, where they continue to be shoved. Multiple students’ clothes were torn. Also read: Prevention, Intervention and Accountability: The Sahil Wakode Case Again Raises Questions on Belonging and DignityA female student said that at one point, each limb was being pulled in different directions by a group of cops, and that not all of them were women. Her pants were torn in the process, and she had to ask for a new set at the police station. Students being detained by Mumbai police. Photo: By arrangement.A medico-legal certificate from KMJ Hospital Vikhroli, a copy of which has been accessed by The Wire, categorically states “assault by Powai police.” It also specifically mentions: “blunt trauma to the shoulder,” “linear abrasion over right elbow”, and an attempt “to strangulate.” While they were released before 6 pm, they were made to remain inside the bus for an additional 30-60 minutes. The detention, according to students, spanned about 2-2.5 hours. When they returned to the site, they found that it had been dismantled in its entirety. On top of that, their possessions were nowhere to be found – banners, tarpaulin sheets, mattresses, books, laptops, bags, room keys, medication. Then began a cycle of being shafted from authority to authority. A student referred to it as “deception through bureaucracy,” an exercise in exhaustion. Initially, they were told by the security office that their belongings were in police custody, after which certain students went back to the police station, where they were informed otherwise. Back on campus, they gathered outside the director’s bungalow, where they sat all night. For the past four days, they have been shuttling between the director’s office and the security office, all in an attempt to retrieve what is theirs. “We’re completely dazed and traumatised. We just don’t know how to process that our institute has treated its students like this,” said a student. “We’ve been locked out of our rooms, denied essential medication. We’ve been told things like: go to the hospital and get your medicines. Break your locks. They’ve given us absolutely nothing.”Also read: The Myth of Casteless Campus and Its DiscontentsOne student requires a prescription for their medication, which is inside a bag that they do not have access to, despite having apprised the security office of their situation. A student’s powered glasses were also smashed during the detention process. But the students say that they will continue protesting. “The collective spirit never dies,” they said. Medicolegal certificate accessed by The Wire. Photo: By arrangement.The students have since emailed the Board of Governors, deploring the use of force and the presence of police personnel on campus. They also have a list of demands: the safe and immediate return of their belongings, the termination of the director, and that a representative from the institute engages in dialogue with the protesting students. For the last two days, the protesting students have been living out of the main building, relying on themselves and the goodwill of other students and certain faculty members. They said that other students had been discouraged from joining the protest, having received barely veiled threats from faculty members. Multiple students said that PhD supervisors had told students that if they participated, they wouldn’t supervise their research.Among other things, housed in their laptops and bags are years of research – the thing they came to do at IIT. “We have to study. We have to attend our lectures. We have upcoming quizzes,” said one student. Three years of their research is currently being held hostage. “They want to break our unity, our strength. They think we will leave the space. But we’re not afraid. We don’t have anything to lose now.”