IIT-B intruder obessesed with premier institute tag, no terror angle: Cops

Mumbai: Police have ruled out any terror angle in the case of (22), a Mangaluru resident who was caught illegally residing on IIT Powai campus early this year. Bilal's actions stemmed from an obsession with obtaining the IIT tag to boost his academic and professional image. To achieve this, he used a forged student ID, attended lectures, created multiple fictitious email accounts, and falsely claimed to hold a Ph D from IIT-Bombay on his LinkedIn profile, the chargesheet submitted by the police said. Bilal, who was arrested on June 25, 2025, was later released on bail. The chargesheet filed by the Crime Branch showed that Bilal, a class 10 passout with a diploma in web designing, managed to sneak into IIT Bombay campus on May 29, using fake documents and a fraudulent guest entry arranged through a suspicious phone call to the IIT gate control room. He attended at least 10 lectures on Artificial Intelligence during his unauthorised stay between May 29 and June 17, despite having no formal affiliation with the institution. Police said Bilal also impersonated a former IIT student named "Chaitanya" to register on the Shiru Startup Café app inside the campus, using roll number 23M2116 and a deactivated mobile number to appear genuine. He even trespassed into the office of staff member Shilpa Kotikal from the Credit Department on June 4, and fled when confronted, the chargesheet said. He was later spotted attending a lecture leading to his detention.During questioning, investigators found that Bilal had created 22 email IDs linked to digital marketing and social media work, and had been illegally staying in hostel premises from June 2–7 and June 10–19. After interrogations by Mumbai Police, Mangaluru Police, Intelligence Bureau (IB), and Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), officials concluded that Bilal acted alone and had no links to any terror or extremist organization. His actions were driven purely by a psychological fascination with the IIT brand, police said.His mobile phone and laptop were seized and sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Kalina, for analysis to retrieve deleted data and trace his online activity.