Mumbai, September 19, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Mumbai Police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in connection with the death of a second-year student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, officials said on Saturday.
The student, identified as Sahil Wakode, a resident of Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, was found dead in his hostel room on the institute’s Powai campus on Friday evening.
According to IIT Bombay, Wakode was pursuing his second year in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering. The institute said he had been caught using a mobile phone during an examination and had uploaded the question paper to ChatGPT in an attempt to obtain answers.
IIT Bombay said no disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against Wakode following the incident. The examination instructor and Head of Department discussed the matter with him, counselled him and assured him that it would not adversely affect his academic career, according to the institute.
Wakode subsequently returned to his hostel room, where he was later found dead.
Police said the student’s family has been informed and arrived in Mumbai. Their statements are being recorded, along with statements from students on the campus. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination.
The death triggered a protest by students on the Powai campus. Protesters alleged that the administration had not disclosed all details surrounding the circumstances of Wakode’s death.
Some students claimed that Wakode had been threatened with a one-year suspension over the examination incident and that such action could have required him to leave the hostel and stay outside the campus. They further alleged that disciplinary consequences could have delayed completion of his engineering course.
Some protesting students also alleged that fear and pressure over possible disciplinary action may have contributed to the death. These claims have not been independently verified.
IIT Bombay, in a statement expressing grief over the death, said it was extending support to Wakode’s friends, classmates, faculty members and others affected by the incident. It added that the circumstances surrounding the death were being examined by the appropriate authorities.
Police personnel were deployed in large numbers on the campus following the protest.
The incident is the third reported student suicide at the IIT Bombay campus in the past six months. Police are continuing their investigation, and further details are awaited.
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