IIT Bombay Student Death Probe Intensifies

The Maharashtra Crime Branch has intensified its investigation into the death by suicide of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode. Police are examining CCTV footage from the examination hall, campus and hostel to reconstruct the sequence of events after Sahil was allegedly caught using ChatGPT during an examination. The footage reportedly shows him being questioned by a professor before leaving the examination hall and later returning to his hostel room.

Meanwhile, RPI-A activists staged a protest outside IIT Bombay demanding action against those they hold responsible for Sahil’s death, following which police detained them. IIT Bombay Faculty Forum president Rajkumar Pant said Sahil had not approached the institute’s SC/ST cell with any complaint in the months before his death. Student representatives have called for institutional reforms while stating that they do not support academic misconduct. IIT Bombay has also begun replacing hostel ceiling fans with wall-mounted fans.