City

IIT Bombay Shares Statement After Student Dies By Suicide Hours After Exam Cheating Incident

By Sohail Khan 19 September 2026, 12:27 pm

IIT Bombay said second-year student Sahil Wakode died by suicide on Friday after being found using a phone during an exam and uploading the question paper to ChatGPT. The institute said no disciplinary action was initiated and he was counselled. Powai Police registered an accidental death report and are investigating, while students protested on campus seeking answers from the administration.

IIT Bombay | file pic

Mumbai: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has issued a statement after a second-year student of its Department of Energy Science and Engineering allegedly died by suicide in his hostel room on Friday evening, hours after he was found using a mobile phone during an examination.

The student, identified as Sahil Wakode, was found hanging in his fourth-floor room at Hostel No. 4 on the Powai campus. The Powai police said no suicide note was recovered from the room.

Let us know! 👂

What type of content would you like to see from us this year?

— HubSpot (@HubSpot)

No Action Over Cheating Incident: IIT Bombay

In its statement, IIT Bombay said the student had been found using a mobile phone during an examination earlier in the day. The institute said he had uploaded the examination question paper on ChatGPT to seek answers. However, IIT Bombay clarified that no disciplinary action had been initiated against him.

“The matter was also discussed with the student by the instructor and the Head of the Department, who counselled him and assured him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career,” the institute said.

The student subsequently returned to his hostel room. According to police, his friends became concerned after he failed to respond to their calls. They went to his room and, after finding the door locked from inside, broke it open and found him dead.

Students Stage Late-Night Protest

The incident later triggered a protest on the IIT Bombay campus, with students gathering and seeking answers from the administration. Protesters reportedly demanded the resignation of the examination in-charge, the institute director and faculty members of the Energy Science and Engineering department.

Students also demanded representation on examination and other academic committees and sought a review of the institute’s disciplinary code of conduct. They also claimed that the incident was the fourth suicide case reported at IIT Bombay in the past year.

#Mumbai: IIT Bombay Student Ends Life; Students Protest On Campus#IITBombay #mumbai #students @meghakuchik1 pic.twitter.com/CSWyFjFJoT

IIT Bombay expressed grief over the student's death and said it was extending support to his friends, classmates, faculty members and others affected by the incident. “The circumstances surrounding the death are being looked into by the appropriate authorities,” the institute said.

Meanwhile, Powai police have registered an accidental death report and begun an investigation. The student's parents are likely to approach cops to file an FIR into the matter. Police have seized the student’s mobile phone to retrieve data and collected CCTV footage from the campus to trace his movements before the incident.