Archive · 25 Sep 2026
Locked iPhone Hinders Probe Into IIT-Bombay Student’s Final Hours
Police are investigating the death of IIT-Bombay student Sahil Wakode.
They have his iPhone 17, but it is locked and its data is encrypted.
They do not have the passcode or pattern needed to open it.
Police think the phone could show what he searched for during an examination.
They also want to learn what happened after he left the examination hall.
CCTV shows him leaving at about 12:38 p.m.
and reaching his hostel at about 1:25 p.m.
Investigators are studying this 47-minute gap.
They are also checking his laptop, CCTV recordings and statements from students and staff.
Mumbai Crime Branch investigators cannot access Sahil Wakode’s locked and encrypted iPhone 17.
Police want to examine searches allegedly made during his September 18 examination.
CCTV shows Wakode leaving the examination hall at about 12:38 p.m. and reaching his hostel around 1:25 p.m.
Investigators are scrutinizing the approximately 47-minute gap using CCTV footage from the hall, campus and hostel.
The probe also includes forensic analysis of his laptop, phone-related information and statements from more than 20 people.
- Who
- Mumbai Crime Branch investigators are examining the death of IIT-Bombay student Sahil Wakode.
- What
- Police are trying to reconstruct Wakode’s movements and access data from his locked iPhone 17.
- When
- The key timeline concerns September 18, including the period from about 12:38 p.m. to 1:25 p.m.
- Where
- The investigation concerns the examination hall, IIT-Bombay campus and Wakode’s hostel.
- Why
- Investigators want to determine what Wakode searched for during the examination and what happened after he left the hall.
- Device
- iPhone 17
- Access problem
- The phone is locked, and its encrypted data cannot currently be extracted with available forensic tools.
- Examination date
- September 18
- CCTV timeline
- Wakode reportedly left the examination hall at about 12:38 p.m. and reached his hostel around 1:25 p.m.
- Unexplained period
- Approximately 47 minutes
- Witness statements
- More than 20 students and institute staff members have been questioned.
- Other evidence
- Wakode’s laptop was seized and sent for forensic examination.
