Police personnel stand guard as students protest following the death of a 22-year-old Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay student, who was found dead in his hostel room after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone during an examination, at the Powai campus, in Mumbai, Maharashtra on September 19, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Amidst ongoing student unrest, the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay on Monday (September 21, 2026) issued an apology for its earlier statements “concerning the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate demise of Sahil.”
The apology, made in a post on X, comes as the Mumbai Police has transferred the probe into the death of a second-year student at IIT-Bombay to the Crime Branch.
The student, Sahil, was found dead in his hostel room on Friday (September 18, 2026) after a professor had reported him for possessing a phone during the examination. The professor, Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who was invigilating the exam, has been named in the FIR along with other institute officials.
In an initial statement on Saturday (September 19, 2026), just after reports emerged about the Sahil’s demise, the institute had said that “the student was found using a mobile phone in the exam hall. He had uploaded the examination question paper on ChatGPT to seek answers.”
“No disciplinary action was initiated against the student. The matter was also discussed with the student by the instructor, the faculty advisor and the Head of the Department, who counselled him and assured him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career,” the institute had further said in the statement.
Sahil’s family, however, has said he was subjected to casteist remarks. His father, Ravindra, said in the FIR that his son had told him that Mr. Doolla had harassed him for three months.
Now, apologising for their earlier statement, IIT-Bombay said it has deemed it inappropriate to “have set out or characterised details relating to the events preceding his [Sahil’s] demise before they had been duly established through the appropriate investigative process.”
“The details and circumstances leading up to the incident remain subject to investigation by the appropriate authorities. In view of the ongoing investigation,” it said today (September 21, 2026).
The institute also took to social media to deny any reports surrounding the Director’s resignation. “Director IIT Bombay has NOT resigned. We categorically state that the related news is false,” it said.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416. and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050).
Published – September 21, 2026 12:55 pm IST
