IIT Bombay student found hanging after exam incident; investigation expands, family protests

Following the discovery of a second-year BTech student from the Department of Energy Science and Engineering hanging in his hostel room on September 18, the Mumbai Crime Branch has taken statements from 20 individuals, including peers present in the examination hall, supervising teachers and hostel personnel. The student had been accused of accessing an AI platform on his phone during the exam, but investigators cannot retrieve data from the device due to a pattern lock.

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes, chaired by Kishor Makwana, visited IIT Bombay to examine allegations of caste-based discrimination, reviewed CCTV footage, and instructed authorities to preserve all relevant evidence. IIT Bombay later issued an apology for earlier communications that caused concern. Meanwhile, the student's parents, Ravindra and Sonali Wakode, held a protest at Azad Maidan demanding the arrest of Professor Suryanarayana Doolla and a rapid, impartial investigation.