Why IIT Bombay Is Trending: Student's Death, Caste Abuse FIR and Campus Protests Explained

The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay has drawn national attention after a second-year student died by suicide on campus on September 18, 2026, and his parents alleged sustained caste-based harassment by a faculty member. The case has produced an FIR under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, a Mumbai Crime Branch probe, and an IIT Bombay campus student protest over academic pressure and institutional accountability.

What happened on September 18, 2026

Sahil Wakode, a 22-year-old pursuing his second year of BTech in Energy Science, was found dead in his room in hostel number 4 on the Powai campus. According to The Hindu, the institute stated he died by suicide after allegedly being caught with a mobile phone during an examination. The institute's initial statement said the third-semester question paper had been uploaded to ChatGPT for answers, and that a faculty member allegedly warned of debarment and called him to a meeting the following day.

Police said no suicide note was recovered at the scene, Hindustan Times reported. The institute also said no disciplinary action had actually been taken against the student.

The caste abuse allegations in the FIR

On September 19, 2026, Mumbai Police registered an FIR on a complaint from the student's father, Chakradhar Wakode. It names Suryanarayana Doolla of the Energy Science department — described by Hindustan Times as a former dean of student affairs — along with other institute officials.

The father alleged that for roughly three months, Doolla had abused Sahil with caste terms, called him a member of a lower caste, and said he could harass him and frame him in a false case. The complaint also referred to other senior officers. These remain allegations recorded in an FIR; no court has ruled on them, and the investigation is ongoing.

Charges invoked and the investigation

The faculty member was booked under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with abetment of suicide. After the family protested and initially declined to claim the body from Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar, police agreed to hand the case to the Mumbai Crime Branch under an ACP-level officer and promised a thorough probe.

One detail likely to be scrutinised: the institute's SC/ST Students and Staff Cell said the student had never lodged a caste-discrimination complaint with it. That absence of a formal complaint does not settle the matter either way, but it will shape how investigators test the FIR's claims.

IIT Bombay campus student protest

Students began demonstrating late on the night of September 18 and continued through September 19, questioning academic pressure, examination rules, and the high-stress environment at the institute. One protesting student told The Hindu this was the second suicide in hostel four in recent months. Protesters' demands reportedly include the resignation of the IIT Bombay Director — a student demand, not an official institute decision.

The institute said it would cooperate fully with authorities and urged people to avoid speculation while the probe continues.

Why this case resonates beyond one campus

The case sits at the intersection of three recurring concerns in Indian higher education: caste discrimination on elite campuses, the mental-health toll of high-pressure academic environments, and how institutions handle alleged examination misconduct. IIT Bombay is among India's most competitive institutes, and earlier student deaths across the IIT system have repeatedly fuelled debate over counselling infrastructure, grievance redressal for SC/ST students, and faculty accountability. The Crime Branch's findings in the coming weeks will determine whether the FIR's allegations are substantiated.

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