IIT Bombay Student Death: Professor Booked, Students Protest on Campus

An IIT Bombay professor has been named as an accused in connection with the alleged suicide of a 22-year-old student, with the Mumbai Crime Branch taking over the investigation, police said on Sunday.

Sahil Ravindra Wakode, a second-year BTech student in the Energy Science and Engineering department, was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his room at Hostel No. 4 on the institute's Powai campus on Friday evening.

According to police, the student was allegedly caught using a mobile phone and ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination earlier that day. IIT Bombay said in a statement that Wakode had allegedly uploaded the examination question paper to ChatGPT to seek answers.

Wakode, a native of Maharashtra's Yavatmal district, subsequently returned to his hostel room and was found dead later in the evening. The student's parents have alleged that he was subjected to institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination before his death.

The Powai police on Saturday registered a case under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, relating to abetment of suicide, along with relevant provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, based on a complaint filed by his parents.

A police official said an IIT Bombay professor was named as an accused in the case, which has now been transferred to the Crime Branch for further investigation under the supervision of the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Detection).

No arrest has been made so far, the official said, adding that further investigation was underway. IIT Bombay had said the student was counselled by the instructor and Head of Department after the examination incident. The institute said he was assured that the episode would not adversely affect his academic career and that no disciplinary action had been initiated against him.

The death triggered protests on the campus, with students demanding an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding it. The incident is the third reported student suicide at IIT Bombay in seven months. A second-year student died by suicide in February, while another 20-year-old BTech student died in July.