Archive · 20 Sep 2026
IIT Bombay Student Death Sparks Caste Discrimination Debate
A student at IIT Bombay died after an incident during an exam.
The report says he had been caught using a phone and ChatGPT to get answers.
His parents said he had also faced caste discrimination.
They named a professor and others in a police complaint.
The institute denied that caste discrimination was involved.
Its SC/ST cell said the student had not filed a formal complaint about it.
Some groups used the death to argue that caste discrimination is common on elite campuses.
Government figures show that students from several caste categories have died by suicide.
These figures do not, by themselves, explain why any particular student died.
Second-year IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode died by suicide after being caught using a phone and ChatGPT during an examination, according to the report.
Wakode’s parents alleged prolonged caste discrimination and named Professor Suryanarayan Doolla and others in a police complaint.
IIT Bombay Director Shireesh B Kedare denied caste-discrimination allegations, while the institute’s SC/ST cell said no formal complaint had been filed by Wakode.
Ministry of Education data cited in Parliament recorded 61 suicides across IITs, NITs and IIMs, including 30 General-category and 30 combined OBC, SC and ST students.
The data shows suicides across multiple categories but does not determine whether caste discrimination contributed to any individual death.
- Who
- Sahil Wakode, his parents, IIT Bombay officials, Professor Suryanarayan Doolla, and student protesters are central to the report.
- What
- Wakode’s death by suicide prompted allegations of caste discrimination, a police case, protests, and debate over student-suicide data.
- When
- The police complaint was reported on 19 September 2026; related social-media reactions were reported on 19 and 20 September 2026. The government suicide data covered the preceding five years and was presented on 27 March 2023.
- Where
- The incident occurred at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
- Why
- The parents attributed the death partly to alleged caste discrimination, while the institute denied the allegation; government data was cited to show that suicides occurred among students from multiple categories.
Parents and caste-discrimination advocates
IIT Bombay and data-focused responses
Cause of the death
Parents and caste-discrimination advocates
Wakode’s parents alleged that sustained caste discrimination, casteist remarks and institutional harassment contributed to his death.
IIT Bombay and data-focused responses
IIT Bombay denied caste discrimination, and the report says the immediate known incident involved Wakode being caught using a phone and ChatGPT during an examination.
Whether discrimination was documented
Parents and caste-discrimination advocates
The parents said Wakode had previously told them about discrimination and difficulties on campus.
IIT Bombay and data-focused responses
The institute’s SC/ST Students and Staff Cell said Wakode had not submitted a formal complaint of caste-based discrimination.
Meaning of suicide statistics
Parents and caste-discrimination advocates
Ambedkarite groups and online commentators argued that caste discrimination and unequal campus power structures can harm marginalized students and supported stronger faculty reservations.
IIT Bombay and data-focused responses
The Ministry of Education figures show deaths among General, OBC, SC, ST and EWS students, but the figures alone neither prove nor disprove caste discrimination in individual cases.
- Student
- Sahil Wakode, a second-year student at IIT Bombay
- Exam incident
- The report says Wakode was caught using a mobile phone and ChatGPT during an examination.
- Police case
- An FIR named Professor Suryanarayan Doolla and others under abetment-of-suicide provisions and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
- Institute response
- Director Shireesh B Kedare denied caste discrimination, and the SC/ST Students and Staff Cell said no formal complaint had been filed by Wakode.
- Government suicide data
- The Ministry of Education reported 61 deaths by suicide across IITs, NITs and IIMs: 33 in IITs, 24 in NITs and 4 in IIMs.
- Category breakdown
- The cited figures recorded 30 General-category deaths, 18 OBC deaths, 10 SC deaths, 2 ST deaths and 1 EWS death.
- Enrollment figures
- Between 2014-15 and 2022-23, SC enrollment rose from 10,392 to 18,076 in IITs and from 983 to 2,537 in IIMs; ST enrollment also increased in both groups.