Mumbai Police have registered an FIR against all persons linked to the incident involving a second-year Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay student who was caught using a mobile phone during an examination, following his death on the Powai campus, 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 IIT Bombay campus on Friday evening, hours after the examination incident. He was pursuing his second year in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering.
The case marks the third reported suicide at the IIT Bombay campus in the past six months.
Earlier in the day, police had registered an Accident Death Report (ADR). Following further developments, an FIR was lodged, and officials said statements of the student's family, classmates and other students are being recorded as part of the investigation.
They tortured and killed my Sahil; IIT Bombay student embraced death, mother's anguished allegations
— Siraj Noorani (@sirajnoorani) September 19, 2026
After the death of a second-year student at IIT Bombay in Mumbai, students staged a protest on campus. The 19-year-old student was studying in the Energy Science and Engineering… pic.twitter.com/orKQDaVPOm
The body has been sent for post-mortem.
According to IIT Bombay, Wakode had uploaded an examination question paper to ChatGPT in an attempt to obtain answers during the test. The institute said no disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against him after the incident.
In a statement, IIT Bombay said the examination instructor and the Head of the Department spoke to Wakode, counselled him and assured him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career.
After the discussion, Wakode returned to his hostel room, where he was later found dead.
The institute expressed grief over the student's death and said it was extending support to his friends, classmates, faculty members and others affected by the tragedy, while the circumstances surrounding the incident are being examined by the appropriate authorities.
Following the incident, a group of students staged a protest on the Powai campus, alleging that the administration had not disclosed all the details surrounding the circumstances of Wakode's death.
Some protesters claimed that Wakode had been threatened with a one-year suspension over the examination incident, which could have required him to vacate the hostel and stay off campus. They also alleged that such disciplinary action could have delayed the completion of his engineering course beyond the standard four-year duration.
The protesting students further alleged that the fear and pressure associated with possible disciplinary consequences may have contributed to his death. However, these claims have not been independently verified.
Police personnel were deployed on the campus following the protest, and the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
