IIT Bombay Student Suicide: Two days after a 22-year-old IIT Bombay student died by suicide in his hostel room, the IIT Bombay Faculty Forum has issued a clarification, expressing distress over what it described as the tarnishing of the reputation of a professor who has been named as an accused in the case.
In an official press release, the IIT Bombay Faculty Forum said, “The Faculty Forum of IIT Bombay mourns the loss of life of a student of our institute, and offers deepest condolences to his family.”
“We strongly express our solidarity with our colleague Prof. Suryanarayana Doolla, who was discharging his duties in line with the institute’s Senate approved academic policies currently in force.”
Prof Doolla observed a student using an unauthorised smartphone during the mid-semester examination on September 18. He reported the incident to the institute authorities in accordance with the approved procedure for further action.
“Prof. Doolla, the course instructor, was invigilating in the midsemester examination from 11-00 to 13-00 on Friday 18th September 2026, when he observed that a student was indulging in an academic malpractice, viz., unauthorized possession and use of a smartphone during the exam. As part of the institute approved procedure, he reported the incident to institute authorities for further action in the matter.”
The Faculty Forum also expressed “extreme distress” over what it described as the tarnishing of Prof. Suryanarayana Doolla’s reputation.
The clarification comes after the Crime Branch, which has taken over the probe into the alleged suicide of the 22-year-old IIT Bombay student, is likely to summon the professor and others for questioning, officials said on Sunday.
The professor has been named as an accused in the case, which will be handled by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Detection), officials said.
What Happened?
The student, identified as Sahil Ravindra Wakode, was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his room in Hostel No. 4 on the Powai campus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay on Friday evening, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone and ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination.
Wakode, a native of Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, was a second-year BTech student in the Energy Science and Engineering department.
The Powai police registered a FIR on Saturday under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to abetment of suicide, and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, based on a complaint filed by the student’s parents.
The family has alleged that Wakode was subjected to institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination before his death. The allegations triggered a protest by students on the campus. The protesters claimed that Wakode had faced severe academic pressure and threats of suspension. The case was transferred to the Crime Branch on Saturday night.
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'Found Cheating Using Chatgpt'
According to a statement from IIT Bombay, the student had allegedly uploaded the examination question paper to ChatGPT to seek answers during the exam. However, the institute said that no disciplinary action had been initiated against him.
The instructor and the Head of the Department had discussed the matter with the student and counselled him, assuring him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career, PTI reported.
The student subsequently returned to his hostel room and was found dead later that evening.