A 22-year-old man named Bilal Teli from Mangaluru has been caught for entering the IIT-Bombay campus in Powai without permission. He pretended to be a student, attended lectures, and even stayed in the hostel for several days.
Bilal reportedly came to IIT on June 4 for a one-day study program but decided not to leave. He wanted to attend engineering classes and ended up staying on campus secretly. Several professors saw him during lectures but became suspicious when one of them asked him to show his ID card. Bilal quickly ran away instead of showing any ID.
The professor then informed the campus security. On June 19, security officials finally caught Bilal and handed him over to the Powai police.
Datta Nalawade, the DCP of Zone X, said that Bilal didn’t seem dangerous. He told the police he stayed because he was interested in learning. However, he had no permission to stay or attend classes.
An IIT-B security officer mentioned that they first noticed an unknown person in the office area on June 4. When they asked for his ID, he ran away. They later shared his CCTV images with the security team, but he couldn’t be found at the time.
Bilal later admitted to the police that he wasn’t an IIT student and had stayed illegally on campus between June 2–7 and again from June 10.
Many faculty members were shocked by the incident. A senior professor said they were concerned about how he got in, where he stayed, and if he accessed any sensitive lab data. “We still have many unanswered questions,” the professor added.
