Overview
- IITs told the Union Education Ministry they recorded 53 student deaths from 2020-21 to 2024-25, of which 45 were classified as suicides and eight as other unnatural deaths.
- The annual totals rose sharply in the last two years covered, from six deaths in 2022-23 to 17 in 2023-24 and 19 in 2024-25 according to the institutions' submissions.
- About 54.7% of the reported deaths involved students from SC, ST and OBC categories, a disproportion that opposition leaders link to problems of inclusion and campus treatment.
- Congress leaders say the ministry omitted these suicide figures from a parliamentary reply despite an undersecretary’s December 1, 2025 request to IITs for data, and they have demanded explanations.
- The recent death of IIT Bombay student Sahil Wakode, found on September 18, has prompted a police CCTV review, student protests and administrative removals while critics press for more counsellors and stronger preventive measures.