IIT Bombay student dies by suicide after being caught using ChatGPT during exam

A second-year student of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay died by suicide on Friday evening, the institute said.Earlier in the day, the student was found using a mobile phone during an examination. According to IIT Bombay, he had uploaded the examination question paper on ChatGPT to seek answers.The institute said no disciplinary action was initiated against the student following the incident. The matter was discussed with him by the instructor and the Head of the Department, who counselled him and assured him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career.The student subsequently returned to his hostel room. Later in the evening, he was found dead in his room. IIT Bombay expressed deep sadness over the student's death and said it was extending support to his friends, classmates, faculty members and others affected by the incident."The circumstances surrounding the death are being looked into by the appropriate authorities," the institute said. Following the incident, students staged a protest on the IIT Bombay campus.ANOTHER SUICIDE INCIDENT INVOLVING IITianIn another incident, a 31-year-old second-year MSc Physics student at IIT Delhi died after jumping from the sixth floor of the Lecture Hall Complex on the campus on August 22.Police said they received a call at around 8.33 am about a student having jumped from a building on the IIT Delhi campus. The student was taken to the IIT Delhi campus hospital, where he was declared brought dead.According to police, the student entered the IIT Delhi campus through the main gate at around 8 am. He then went to the Lecture Hall Complex, took a lift to the sixth floor and allegedly jumped from the front side of the building.The student, who was a resident of Bihar, was in his second year of the MSc Physics programme. Police said no suicide note was recovered and the reason behind his death was being ascertained.- EndsPublished On: Sep 18, 2026 23:18 IST