"Our Child...": Grandmother Of IIT Student Who Was Found Dead Breaks Down

Speaking to NDTV, Sahil Wakode's grandmother Shyamlata Tayade said the family could not accept that a young man who had worked hard to secure admission to one of India's premier institutions had died by suicide.

· NDTV

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  • Sahil Wakode, IIT Bombay student, died by hanging in his hostel room recently
  • His family demands a CBI probe citing caste discrimination and institutional harassment
  • Sahil was accused of cheating using ChatGPT during a mid-semester exam

What measures is IIT Bombay taking to address student stress?
New Delhi:

The grandmother of Sahil Wakode, a 22-year-old IIT Bombay student whose death has prompted allegations of caste-based discrimination and harassment at the college, has told NDTV that her family wants a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death.

Speaking to NDTV, Sahil's grandmother Shyamlata Tayade said the family could not accept that a young man who had worked hard to secure admission to one of India's premier institutions had died by suicide. She described him as an exceptionally bright student who had consistently performed well in school and had dreams of building a future inspired by former president APJ Abdul Kalam.

"Sahil was a very bright student. Our child cannot die by suicide," she said. "Our child cannot do anything wrong. He is a boy who worked very hard to get into IIT. All the children were studying by looking up to him."

"Since childhood, he used to come first in every class. He studied very well in his first year as well, and this year was also going very well," a visibly emotional grandmother told NDTV. "Before going to college, he came to us to seek our blessings. He told us that when he returned, he would guide children here like him. He wanted all the children to go to IIT. Sahil's idol was APJ Abdul Kalam. He wanted to become like Abdul Kalam."

Her remarks came amid a police investigation into Sahil's death, a second-year BTech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering. The student was found hanging from a ceiling fan in his room at Hostel Number 4 on the IIT Bombay campus in Mumbai's Powai area on Friday evening.

Sahil was allegedly caught using a mobile phone during a mid-semester examination. According to IIT Bombay officials, he allegedly used ChatGPT during the exam. IIT Bombay, in a statement, said the student had allegedly uploaded the examination question paper to ChatGPT to seek answers.

The institute said no disciplinary action had been initiated against him.

His family has alleged that he faced institutional harassment and caste-based discrimination before his death. Students protesting on the campus have claimed that he was under severe pressure and had faced threats of suspension from the college.

The Mumbai Crime Branch, which took over the case after an FIR was registered on the complaint of Sahil's parents, is investigating the case. A professor has been named as an accused.

The institute has separately announced the removal of Professor Suryanarayana Doolla from the post of Dean (Administrative Affairs), with immediate effect. The decision was communicated by IIT Bombay Director Professor Shireesh Kedare in an official email. The director said that any further action would be taken after the investigation.

"I don't know what happened there (IIT Bombay) and what did not happen," Sahil's grandmother told NDTV. "Our child has been subjected to injustice by the college. Our child cannot die by suicide. He is a boy who worked very hard to get into IIT."

The grandmother said Sahil was the only boy in the family and that his education had been a source of hope. 

"Our demand is that the teachers and those responsible at the college should receive the strictest punishment," she said. "There should be a CBI inquiry. Sahil was an only child. He could not have died by suicide. He must get justice."

Sahil's grandmother told NDTV that their relatives living in a village in Maharashtra's Yavatmal were not in a position to understand the internal workings of a major institution such as IIT Bombay. She said the distance between their home and the institute has made it difficult for them to know what happened inside the campus and how Sahil was treated.

"We live in a village in Yavatmal," she said. "We are village people. We do not know what happens at the college and what does not happen there. We have complete faith in the CBI. We want an investigation to be conducted there with transparency. Our expectation is that no other Sahil should face such a situation. No other child should be subjected to injustice."

Sahil's death is the third reported case of suicide at IIT Bombay in seven months.  In February, a second-year student died by suicide in a hostel. In July, at the beginning of the new semester, a 20-year-old second-year BTech student also died by suicide.

Between 2006 and 2026, a total of 171 students have died by suicide at IITs across the country. 

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