IIT Bombay Student Suicide: The parents of a 22-year-old Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay student, who died by suicide on Friday, have alleged that their son faced severe institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination before his death.
According to a complaint filed by the student's father, teacher Suryanarayan Dulla allegedly subjected Sahil to caste-based slurs and threatened to implicate him in a false case.
Case Transferred To Mumbai Crime Branch
Following the family's complaint, the Powai Police registered a case under Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita along with relevant provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
However, the student suicide case has now been transferred to the Mumbai Crime Branch for investigation. Further, an FIR has been registered against teacher Suryanarayan Dulla, with complaints filed against other IIT authorities.
Officials said that a probe into the circumstances surrounding the death is underway.
IIT Bombay Student Found Dead In Hostel Room
The student has been identified as Sahil Ravindra Wakode, a native of Maharashtra's Yavatmal district and a second-year BTech student in the Energy Science and Engineering department. He was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his room in Hostel Number 4 on the Powai campus on Friday evening. Wakode's death came to light after hostel mates received no response from his locked room and alerted campus authorities, who subsequently informed the police.
The incident triggered protests on campus, with students demanding a inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death.
What IIT Bombay Said
Addressing the incident, IIT Bombay issued a statement late on Friday, stating that Wakode was found using a mobile phone in the exam hall earlier that day, allegedly uploading the question paper to ChatGPT to seek answers. However, the institute emphasised that no disciplinary action had been initiated against him.
The administration stated that the instructor and the Head of the Department had discussed the matter with him, counselled him, and assured him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career. He subsequently returned to his hostel room and was found dead later in the evening.
"The Institute is extending support to the student's friends, classmates, faculty members, and others affected by this tragic incident," the statement added.
Third Suicide In Seven Months
This marks the third reported suicide at the IIT Bombay campus in Powai in seven months. The incident follows the death of a second-year student in February and another incident in July 2026, where a 20-year-old second-year BTech student ended his life at the start of the new semester.
(With Inputs From Agencies)
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