IIT Bombay to Swap Ceiling Fans for Wall-Mounted Units in Hostels After Student's Death

IIT Bombay has begun replacing ceiling fans in its hostels with wall-mounted units, days after the death of a second-year B.Tech student on the Powai campus.

Sahil Wakode, a student of the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found dead in his hostel room on the evening of Friday, September 18, 2026. He was a resident of Yavatmal district in Maharashtra. His death came hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone to access ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination.

According to people familiar with the development, ceiling fans are to be removed from hostels and wall-mounted fans installed across all hostel blocks and other utility areas on the campus. Images of a consignment of wall-mounted fans arriving at the institute as part of what was described as renovation work have circulated widely on social media.

The proposal to replace the fans had been under discussion since a student died in July, and it drew fresh attention after Wakode's death last week.

The move has drawn criticism from NCP (SP) spokesperson Anish Gawande, who argued that changing the type of fans would not address the broader problem of student suicides at the Indian Institutes of Technology. He questioned whether the replacement could resolve an issue affecting IITs nationwide and called for a stronger emphasis on suicide prevention and mental health support. Gawande said more than 117 students had died at IITs over the past two decades.