A recent account of a struggling actor secretly living inside an IIT Bombay hostel for four months has drawn attention to alleged security gaps at one of India’s premier educational institutions. The revelation comes amid renewed scrutiny following the recovery of five live 7.65 mm bullets from a hostel room last week, where a BTech dropout was found illegally accommodating a visitor.
The individual, identified under the pseudonym Devang Sharma, spoke about how he managed to stay on campus in 2015 despite not being a student. His experience, combined with recent incidents involving unauthorised occupants, has raised concerns about long-standing vulnerabilities in campus access control and hostel monitoring systems.
Sharma said he arrived in Mumbai to pursue acting but struggled financially while trying to break into the film industry. With limited resources and little family support for his career choice, he relied on a friend studying at IIT Bombay for temporary shelter. According to his account, the friend secretly allowed him to stay in his hostel room in the “House of Titans,” presenting him informally as a research scholar to avoid suspicion.
Although overnight guests were officially not permitted in student hostels, Sharma claimed that entry checks were minimal at the time. For the first few days, he entered and exited the campus alongside his friend, but soon began moving independently as security personnel became familiar with his presence. He alleged that identification checks were rare and largely informal, enabling him to blend into campus life without raising questions.
To further reduce suspicion, Sharma said he obtained a fake identification card from outside the campus as a precaution, though he claimed it was rarely required. He avoided the hostel mess because students needed authorised meal cards, instead relying on inexpensive eateries while spending most of his day attending auditions in Mumbai’s Andheri area. His routine mirrored that of regular students, and he said most residents assumed he was a senior student or academic collaborator.
According to Sharma, he stayed in the hostel for approximately four months before leaving when his friend travelled abroad for a research project. In hindsight, he described the decision as reckless and acknowledged that he could have faced serious legal consequences if discovered. However, he said the arrangement allowed him to survive in Mumbai without paying rent during a financially difficult period.
The account has resurfaced at a time when IIT Bombay’s security practices are under renewed examination. Recently, police arrested a 23-year-old IIT-B dropout, Anand Chaudhary, after live ammunition was found in a hostel room where an unauthorised visitor was allegedly staying. Earlier, in June 2025, another outsider reportedly entered the campus by impersonating a PhD scholar and remained there for nearly a month, even attending classes and seminars.
Alumni from several major universities, including Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University, and Banaras Hindu University, acknowledged that unofficial hostel stays by non-students are not uncommon in large campuses. However, observers note that such incidents occurring within a highly reputed and restricted institution like IIT Bombay are particularly concerning.
Following earlier security breaches, the institute reportedly engaged the Maharashtra Security Force to strengthen monitoring and improve gate checks. Despite these measures, officials associated with ongoing investigations have indicated that systematic frisking or scanning of visitors remains limited, leaving potential loopholes in access control.
The account of Sharma’s stay is not presented as a formal investigation but as a personal narrative highlighting how easily an outsider once integrated into campus life. The recent recovery of ammunition and repeated instances of unauthorised occupancy have intensified questions about whether sufficient safeguards are currently in place, suggesting that vulnerabilities identified years ago may still persist within the institute’s security framework.
