IIT Bombay Deletes its Apology Over Student's Suicide, Later Posts it Again After Backlash

Students of the institute and his parents have accused IIT Bombay of casteism and of humiliating Sahil, which they say resulted in his death.

The Wire Staff

Students of the institute and his parents have accused IIT Bombay of casteism and of humiliating Sahil, which they say resulted in his death.

iit bombay deletes its apology over student s suicide later posts it again after backlash

Police personnel detain activists into a bus as they protest outside the IIT Bombay demanding a fair probe into the alleged suicide of B. Tech student Sahil Wakode, at Powai, in Mumbai, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026. Photo PTI

New Delhi: Days after IIT Bombay apologised over the death of 20-year-old Sahil Wakode – a student belonging to a Dalit community who died by suicide – it first deleted its apology post from the institute’s social media platform X on Thursday (September 24) before once again posting the message after backlash, reported New Indian Express.

“Sharing the earlier post of 21st Sept 2026 again: We apologise for the statements contained in our earlier communication concerning the circumstances surrounding the unfortunate demise of Sahil. The details and circumstances leading up to the incident remain subject to investigation by the appropriate authorities. In view of the ongoing investigation, it was inappropriate to have set out or characterised details relating to the events preceding his demise before they had been duly established through the appropriate investigative process,” said IIT Bombay when it posted the message again on X after deleting it.

Following the death of Wakode, IIT Bombay had claimed that the student was found using his mobile phone during his mid-term exam, and that no disciplinary action was initiated against him. The statement spent little time expressing grief and regret over the death of a young student on campus and much more on his alleged attempt to cheat in an exam. The institute has now also deleted the X post for that statement.

It was for this initial statement that the institute had issued the apology on September 21.

Students of the institute and his parents have accused IIT Bombay of casteism and of humiliating Sahil, which they say resulted in his death.

The parents of Sahil had also alleged that they were driven out of Mumbai in a private car despite telling the driver multiple times that they wanted to remain in the city and start a hunger strike in front of the IIT Bombay gate.

This article went live on September twenty-fifth, two thousand twenty six, at fifteen minutes past one in the afternoon.

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