IIT Bombay Student Suicide: Fourth Death In 7 Months Sparks Mental Health Concerns Across IIT Campuses
A tragic incident at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay on Friday night has brought the ongoing mental health crisis across elite technical institutions back into sharp focus. Sahil Wakode , a second-year undergraduate BTech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, died by suicide on campus on September 18, 2026. The incident occurred hours after he was reportedly…
A concerning mental health crisis has emerged at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, with the recent suicide of a second-year undergraduate student on September 18, 2026. This tragic event marks the fourth death at IIT Bombay within a seven-month span, drawing attention to the growing concern over student wellbeing across elite technical institutions.
A fellow student alleged that he was confronted during an exam about using a mobile phone and an AI application, which allegedly led to his extreme distress. The incident triggered protests on the Powai campus, demanding administrative accountability, transparency, and structural changes to address mental health concerns.
This tragedy is not an isolated case, as the Global IIT Alumni Support Group, led by Dheeraj Singh, has documented a total of 74 student suicides and unnatural deaths across 15 IIT campuses between September 2021 and September 18, 2026. The national figures reveal a consistent baseline of 14 to 16 recorded deaths per year from 2022 to 2025.
The data shows a high concentration of cases among older, first-generation campuses, with IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Delhi, and IIT Madras accounting for 38 out of the 74 total deaths, or over 51 percent of all recorded cases during this period.
Dr. Anshu Kulkarni, a psychiatrist with 28 years of experience, emphasizes the need for structured institutional support systems and regular mental health checkups. She cautions against unverified speculation and urges IITs to review their institutional conditions that students face, ensuring transparent accountability following each tragic incident. The latest suicide at IIT Bombay should not be treated as an isolated event, but rather a call to action for urgent changes in the current systems.
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