IIT Bombay Standoff Deepens Over Student’s Death

New Delhi, September 21, 2026 Tensions at IIT Bombay remain high following the death by suicide of 22-year-old student Sahil Ravindra Wakode, with protesting students and parents pressing the administration over their demands. A possible breakthrough emerged after IIT Bombay Director Shirish Kedar signed a document listing 18 demands raised by the protesters. The institute is expected to issue a formal response today. Wakode, a second-year BTech student from Yavatmal, Maharashtra, was found dead in his hostel room on Friday, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone and ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination. The circumstances surrounding his death have since triggered sharply differing claims, with protesters and his family alleging institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination, while the institute has defended the procedure followed during the examination. The IIT Bombay Faculty Forum expressed solidarity with exam invigilator Suryanarayana Doolla, saying he was acting according to institutional protocol after discovering Wakode in “unauthorised possession and use of a smartphone.” The forum also expressed grief over the student’s death and offered condolences to his family. It maintained that the professor had only carried out his academic responsibilities and followed the prescribed procedure. On Sunday night, the IIT Bombay administration held discussions with protesting students over their 18 demands. These include student representation in academic committees, an independent investigation into four cases of death by suicide on campus and mental health workshops for professors. Despite the meeting, protesters have announced plans to gather at the institute’s main gate under the banner of ‘India Against Casteism’, raising concerns about earlier deaths that they allege were linked to caste-based discrimination. “We are not here to die,” the protesters said as their main slogan. The student’s parents have also filed a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, alleging discrimination. With the administration expected to announce its position on the protesters’ demands, attention remains focused on whether the talks can ease tensions while addressing the allegations and concerns raised by the student’s family and campus community.