A second year student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay committed suicide last night after he was caught cheating in an exam using a mobile phone.

According to the institute, the student of Energy Science and Engineering department had uploaded the exam question paper on Chat GPT to get answers during the exam.

Officials said no disciplinary action was taken against the student.

The instructor and head of department also discussed the matter with the student, explaining and assuring him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic future.

After the conversation, the student went back to his hostel room, later in the evening he was found dead in his room.

According to Indian media reports, this is the third suicide incident in the Powai campus of IIT in the last 6 months.

The protesting students have alleged that the institution is not bringing out the complete facts regarding the incident.

The students claimed that the student facing the plagiarism charge was allegedly threatened with a one-year suspension, which could extend his 4-year degree to 5 years or longer, while the suspension would require the student to vacate the hostel and stay off campus.

Protesting students have alleged that fear and pressure of disciplinary action may have led the student to take this extreme step, but this claim has not been independently verified.