CCTV footage from exam hall, hostel show last moments of IIT Bombay student who died by suicide

Mumbai Police Crime Branch is analysing CCTV footage from the examination hall, campus grounds and hostel premises as part of its inquiry into the death of 22-year-old student at IIT Bombay.

The student, a second-year BTech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found dead in his hostel room at the Powai campus on the evening of September 18, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone to access ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination.

According to officials, cameras inside the examination hall captured the student's movements before a professor approached him and took him away after he was allegedly caught copying, news agency PTI reported.

He was subsequently seen walking across the campus towards his hostel after leaving the examination hall, an official said. CCTV footage showed no movement from his room thereafter. He was later found dead inside his hostel room.

Investigators are now analysing and cross-checking CCTV footage from multiple locations across the institute to trace Wakode’s movements and reconstruct the events leading up to his death.

What had happened?

The student had allegedly been caught using a mobile phone during a mid-semester exam. The institute earlier said that the student had been found using a mobile phone during the examination and had uploaded the question paper on ChatGPT to seek answers.

“No disciplinary action was initiated against the student,” the institute said. However, students claimed he was told by officials that he could face disciplinary action, including suspension.

Protests erupt

The campus witnessed protests following his suicide, prompting the police to step up security measures. The student representatives clarified that they didn't condone cheating in any manner, but the events leading up to the student suicide made them reflect.

“The protest initiated by students was not intended to justify academic misconduct. It was a collective effort to raise concerns about systemic issues that have existed for some time and to seek meaningful and strong institutional reforms so that no student has to face circumstances of this nature again…,” the student representatives said, according to a statement shared by news agency ANI.

Who was the professor?

The professor who caught Wakode is Suryanarayana Doolla. He was suspended from his post of Dean (Student Affairs) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, with immediate effect.

Following the uproar over the student's suicide, Doolla has been charged with abetment to suicide and alleged discrimination on the basis of caste.

However, the IIT faculty from campuses in Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai have come forward in his support, arguing that he was only discharging his duties. While IIT-Bombay faculty members held a march in Doolla's support, the IIT-Delhi Faculty Forum released a statement saying he was “simply discharging his duties”.

Meanwhile, the IIT-Madras's faculty body urged against publicly holding individuals responsible before the due process is completed.