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, he was found using a mobile phone during an examination. His death sparked a massive protest on campus by other students.
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 instructor and the Head of the Department discussed the matter with him, counselled him, and assured him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career, it added.
The student subsequently returned to his hostel room. Later in the evening, he was found dead in his room.
Protesting students have presented a contrasting account, alleging that the young man took the extreme step after being threatened with suspension by the institute.
They demanded a transparent probe into the suicide and the resignation of IIT Bombay's Director, Professor Shireesh Kedare.
Meanwhile, the management of the prestigious institute expressed grief 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," it stated.
In 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.
