IIT-B apologises for student suicide statement, deletes professor post; director stays

IIT Bombay has apologised for its earlier statement on student Sahil's suicide, saying the circumstances remain under investigation. The institute has deleted its earlier post on a professor and clarified that Director Shireesh Kedare has not resigned. The developments come amid ongoing campus protests and students' demands for accountability.

In Short

• IIT Bombay apologises for earlier statements on student death
• Previous communication on incident was premature and inappropriate
• Details of the incident remain under official investigation

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has issued an apology over its earlier communication regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of a student, saying that details about the events leading up to the incident remain under investigation by the authorities.

We apologise for the statements contained in our earlier communication concerning the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate demise of Sahi

The details and circumstances leading up to the incident remain subject to investigation by the appropriate authorities. In view of the ongoing investigation, it was inappropriate to have set out or characterised details relating to the events preceding his demise before they had been duly established through the appropriate investigative process.

IIT BOMBAY's STATEMENT 1

On September 19, IIT Bombay issued a notice regarding the demise of 22-year-old student Sahil Wakode. The notice read:

“A second-year student of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at IIT Bombay died by suicide yesterday evening. The Institute expresses its deep and heartfelt condolences to the student's family, kith and kin.

Earlier in the day, during an examination, the student was found using a mobile phone in the exam hall. He had uploaded the examination question paper on ChatGPT to seek answers.

No disciplinary action was initiated against the student. The matter was also discussed with the student by the instructor, the faculty advisor and the Head of the Department, who counselled him and assured him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career.”

DELETED STATEMENT 2

On September 20, IIT Bombay issued another statement

The September 20th, statement read, ‘We strongly express our solidarity with our colleague Prof. Suryanarayana Doolla, who was discharging his duties in line with the institute's Senate approved academic policies currently in force.Prof. Doolla, the course instructor, was invigilating in the midsemester examination from 11-00 to 13-00 on Friday 18th September 2026, when he observed that a student was indulging in an academic malpractice, viz., unauthorized possession and use of a smart-phone during the exam. As part of the institute approved procedure, he reported the incident to institute authorities for further action in the matter.’

- Ends