IIT Bombay to replace ceiling fans with wall-mounted fans after student's suicide

IIT Bombay has initiated the replacement of ceiling fans with wall-mounted fans across its hostels, following the death by suicide of second-year B.Tech student Sahil Wakode last week, sources familiar with the development said.

Wakode, a Department of Energy Science and Engineering student from Maharashtra's Yavatmal district, was found dead in his hostel room on the Powai campus on Friday evening, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone to access ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination.

According to sources, the institute is set to remove ceiling fans from hostels and install wall-mounted fans across all hostel and utility areas on campus, as part of a broader move following recent incidents of student suicides. Images of a batch of wall-mounted fans arriving at the campus as part of what was described as "renovation work" went viral on social media over the weekend.

The move was reportedly first discussed after a student died by suicide in July, and gained renewed urgency following Wakode's death last week.

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) spokesperson Anish Gavande criticised the initiative, questioning whether a change in fixtures could address the underlying causes of student suicides at IITs. "Does IIT Bombay really think that replacing ceiling fans with wall fans will solve the suicide problem affecting IITs across the country?" Gavande said, calling instead for a stronger institutional focus on suicide prevention and mental health support. He cited data showing that more than 117 students have died by suicide across the IITs over the past 20 years.