Bombay: IIT student commits suicide; students protest
Bombay: A second-year student of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, committed suicide after being caught using a mobile phone during an examination.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the student, identified as Sahil Wakode, had uploaded the examination question paper to ChatGPT to seek answers. IIT, Bombay, claimed that Wakode was counselled and assured that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career.
However, the student was found dead in his hostel room later on Friday evening. IIT, Bombay, expressed grief over the incident and said it was extending support to his friends, classmates, faculty members and others affected by his death.
“The circumstances, surrounding the death, are being looked into by the appropriate authorities,” the institute said.
Behind the Uniform: India’s Hidden Suicide Crisis
Students staged a protest on the IIT, Bombay campus, following the incident, saying that the institute had not disclosed the complete circumstances surrounding the death.
The protesting students said that Wakode had been threatened with a one-year suspension, during which he would have been required to vacate the hostel. They demanded accountability from the institute’s administration.
This is the third reported suicide at the IIT, Bombay campus, this year, raising concerns among students and the wider academic community.
In February, a second-year student died by suicide in the hostel. At the beginning of the new semester in July, another second-year student also died by suicide.
The incidents have renewed concerns about academic pressure, disciplinary practices, student welfare and the availability of adequate support facilities at educational institutions in India.
