An IIT-Bombay student’s death by suicide has triggered overnight protests on campus, with students demanding an independent inquiry, accountability from institute officials and stronger mental-health support. The student’s parents, who travelled from Yavatmal, have sought a CID probe and alleged casteism and institutional torture, claims that the institute has not accepted.
The second-year student had been caught with a mobile phone during an examination on Friday. Students alleged that he was threatened with suspension after the incident. IIT-Bombay said no disciplinary action had been initiated against him and that the student had been counselled by the instructor and the head of his department.
In a statement issued on Friday night, the institute said the student had been assured that the examination incident would not adversely affect his academic career. The statement did not indicate that any suspension proceedings had begun.
Students continued demonstrating through the night and into Saturday morning. They gathered near the main gate and said the protest would continue until substantial action was taken. Institute director Shireesh Kedare interacted with students at the convocation hall in the early hours of Saturday, but the demonstrations continued.
The students have sought the resignation of the director, the dean of student affairs and the examination invigilator who was on duty in the student’s class. They have also demanded an institutional task force to examine the circumstances surrounding the death and an independent inquiry into the last four student suicides at the institute, with the findings made public.
The demands extend beyond the immediate examination incident. Protesters have called for compulsory mental-health sensitisation workshops for professors, as well as measures to improve the functioning and accessibility of the institute’s wellness centres. These demands place the institute’s academic procedures, counselling systems and internal accountability mechanisms at the centre of the campus response.
The student’s parents said their son would not have taken such an extreme step and sought action against officials whom they held responsible for his death. Their allegations remain claims made in the aftermath of the incident and are part of the inquiry being sought by the family and students.
Powai police have filed an accidental death report. The mid-semester examinations scheduled for Saturday were postponed. Campus residents are scheduled to hold a candlelight march later on Saturday as students continue to seek an independent investigation and a formal institutional response.
