IIT Bombay student dies by suicide after getting caught using ChatGPT in exam
IIT Bombay said he had uploaded the exam question paper on ChatGPT to get answers.
PTC News Desk: 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 that day, the student was caught using a mobile phone during an examination. IIT Bombay said he had uploaded the exam question paper on ChatGPT to get answers.
The institute said it did not start any disciplinary proceedings against him after the incident. The instructor and Head of the Department spoke to him, counselled him and assured him that the incident would not affect his academic career.
IIT Bombay expressed deep sadness over the student’s death and said it was providing 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.
Students protest against suicide
Following the student’s death, students held a protest on the IIT Bombay campus in Powai. They alleged that the institute had not disclosed the full details surrounding the incident.
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The protesting students claimed that the student had been threatened with a one-year suspension for allegedly cheating during the examination. They said such a suspension would have forced him to leave the hostel and stay outside the campus.
Students also claimed that the disciplinary action could have delayed his engineering course from four years to five years or even longer.
The protesters alleged that fear and pressure over possible disciplinary action may have contributed to the student taking the extreme step. However, this claim has not been independently verified.