45 IIT suicides in five years; Bombay student’s parents allege caste harassment

New Delhi/Mumbai, Sep 22: Twenty-three Indian Institutes of Technology reported 45 student suicides between 2020-21 and 2024-25, according to official data. Of those who died, 28 were from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes communities.

The figures emerged as the parents of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode alleged that he had told them about casteist slurs, abuse and humiliation at the institute. They sought a thorough investigation into their son's alleged suicide and action against those found responsible.

The five-year figures were compiled from data obtained from all IITs for a provisionally admitted Lok Sabha starred question dated December 8, 2025. Students from SC, ST and OBC communities accounted for more than 62 per cent of the 45 suicides.

The data recorded 12 of those who died as OBC students, nine as SC students and seven as ST students. Sixteen were from the General category and one from the Economically Weaker Sections category.

The number of suicides rose from six in 2022-23 to 16 in 2023-24. The IITs reported 13 suicides in 2024-25.

IIT Hyderabad reported seven suicides over the five years, the highest among the institutes. IIT Kharagpur, IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur reported six each, IIT Madras five, and IIT (BHU) Varanasi four.

Of the 13 students who died by suicide in 2024-25, four were from OBC communities, three from ST communities and two from SC communities. Four were from the General category.

The compilation separately recorded eight unnatural deaths over the five years, which were not included in the figure of 45 suicides.

It did not provide a course-wise break-up or details of the circumstances surrounding the deaths. The raw figures, therefore, cannot establish the reasons for the deaths.

The compilation was prepared in connection with Lok Sabha Provisionally Admitted Starred Diary No. 3682, dated December 8, 2025.

In Mumbai, Sahil's parents spoke to the media after visiting the Crime Branch office. His mother, Sonali Wakode, said she had full faith in the agency and wanted the investigation completed fairly, thoroughly and in accordance with the FIR.

She said the allegations and circumstances recorded in the FIR should be properly investigated, with action against those found responsible. She claimed Sahil had said he was being tortured, abused and humiliated because of his caste.

Sonali alleged that Sahil had specifically told the family that Professor Suryanarayana Doolla would say, "I am from an upper caste and you are from a lower caste." According to her account of what Sahil told them, this had continued for around three months.

She said Sahil told his parents during a September 13 meeting in his hostel room that he was being tortured and abused. The family tried to support him and advised him to focus on his studies and bright future at IIT, she said.

"In hindsight, I feel that telling him to tolerate the situation was our mistake," Sonali said.

She objected to the institute's initial claim that Sahil had allegedly been caught using ChatGPT during an examination. Anyone alleging cheating must provide evidence, she said.

Sonali also expressed concern about what she described as an apparent change in IIT Bombay's position or statements on the allegations. She asked authorities to examine whether the allegations had an evidentiary basis or were diverting attention from the issues in the FIR.

Sahil's father, Ravindra Wakode, said the truth would emerge only after the accused were arrested. Calling Sahil a bright student, he said cracking the JEE Advanced examination was not an ordinary achievement and referred to his son's All India rank.

The parents demanded the immediate arrest of IIT Bombay Director Professor Shirish Kedare and Professor Doolla. They said they had faith in the administration and the Constitution and believed their son would get justice.

A senior Crime Branch official said the statements of Sahil's parents had been recorded. Statements of IIT Bombay officials, including Professor Doolla, were yet to be recorded, and they would be summoned for questioning soon.

Sahil was a second-year B Tech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering. He was found hanging in his hostel room on the Powai campus on September 18 evening.

He was found hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone to access ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination.

(With inputs from PTI)