A second-year student of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay died by suicide on Friday, hours after he was found using a mobile phone during an examination. The incident has sparked protests on the Powai campus, with students demanding a transparent inquiry into what happened.
The student was identified as Sahil Ravindra Wakode, who was pursuing BTech in Energy Science and Engineering. Police said he was found dead in his hostel room on Friday evening. No suicide note was recovered, and the Powai police have registered an accidental death report while investigating the circumstances surrounding the death.
According to IIT Bombay, Wakode was found using a mobile phone during an exam earlier in the day. The institute said he had uploaded the examination question paper to ChatGPT to seek answers while the test was underway.
The institute has also said that no disciplinary action had been initiated against the student. It said the course instructor and the Head of Department spoke to him and counselled him. They also assured him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career, according to the institute’s statement.
The student later returned to his hostel room. He was found dead there several hours later.
The sequence of events has led to questions from students on campus. Some students have given a different account of what happened after the examination incident. They have alleged that Wakode was warned of serious disciplinary consequences, including a possible suspension.
That claim has not been independently verified and conflicts with IIT Bombay’s account that no disciplinary action had been initiated. The differing versions have become a central point of the student protests.
Hundreds of students gathered on the IIT Bombay campus following the death. Reports put the number of protesters at more than 400. Students have demanded greater transparency from the administration and a detailed investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death.
The ongoing mid-semester examinations were also postponed following the incident, according to reports from the campus. Police personnel were deployed as students and institute officials held discussions.
Students have also raised broader concerns about academic pressure, disciplinary procedures and student welfare at the premier engineering institute. Some protesters have called for accountability from the administration and demanded answers about how the incident was handled.
IIT Bombay said it was deeply saddened by the student’s death and that it was extending support to his friends, classmates, faculty members and others affected by the tragedy. The institute said the circumstances surrounding the death were being examined by the appropriate authorities.
The incident has also drawn attention because of the reported use of ChatGPT in an examination. The case highlights the growing challenge educational institutions face as students gain easy access to artificial intelligence tools. Colleges and universities are increasingly having to clarify when AI tools such as ChatGPT can be used for academic work and when their use amounts to a violation of examination rules.
At IIT Bombay, the immediate issue was the use of a mobile phone during an examination, which is not permitted. The institute has specifically said that the student used ChatGPT to seek answers from the question paper.
Police are continuing to investigate the death. The post-mortem examination has been ordered, while officials are looking into the events leading up to the student being found dead.
The death is also the latest in a series of student suicides reported at the IIT Bombay campus this year. Reports have identified two other student deaths by suicide in February and July, making the latest incident the third reported case at the Powai campus in seven months.
The latest tragedy has therefore put the spotlight not only on the examination incident and the use of AI in education, but also on the larger questions of student support and well-being at one of India’s most competitive educational institutions.
As the investigation continues, students are seeking clarity on what happened between the examination and the student’s death. The institute and authorities are expected to examine the circumstances before drawing conclusions about the events that led to the tragedy.
