IIT Delhi chief warns of disciplinary action against students protesting suicide

Student protests at IIT Delhi have intensified following Rishikesh Kumar's death, with students demanding accountability and a transparent probe. Director Rangan Banerjee has warned of disciplinary action, while IIT Delhi says it is working to improve student welfare and rebuild trust.

In Short

• Director Rangan Banerjee said protests entered residential zones late on Thursday
• He alleged threatening language outside faculty homes disturbed families' safety and privacy
• Students feared disciplinary steps could hurt academics and upcoming placement opportunities

IIT Delhi Director Rangan Banerjee has warned of disciplinary action against students accused of disrupting campus activities as protests continue over the death of 31-year-old MSc Physics student Rishikesh Kumar. The warning came after students staged a late-night march across the campus on Thursday, demanding accountability and a transparent probe into Kumar’s death.

In an email sent to students on Friday evening, Banerjee said the situation had escalated significantly on Thursday night, when protesters moved into residential areas between 10:30 pm and 12:30 am.

The director said demonstrations were held outside faculty residences and that some slogans were humiliating and threatening. He said such behaviour compromised the safety, privacy and peace of faculty members and their families.

“The Institute will take disciplinary action against individuals disrupting the peaceful functioning of the campus, including residential areas, classes, academic and other activities,” Banerjee wrote, as reported by ANI.

STUDENTS MARCH, RAISE DEMANDS

During the midnight march, protesting students moved through the campus, urging faculty members to come out and stand in solidarity with them.

Some students have expressed concern that disciplinary action could affect their academic careers and participation in placement activities. One student said the director’s message could weaken the ongoing protest movement.

EXTERNAL PROBE PANEL RECONSTITUTED

Amid the protests, IIT Delhi has also reconstituted its external inquiry panel into Kumar’s death. Retired Delhi High Court judge Mukta Gupta has been appointed as the new chairperson after former Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar stepped down citing personal reasons.

The panel also includes AIIMS Delhi’s psychiatry department head Pratap Sharan, two student representatives and the IIT Delhi Registrar. A police investigation into the death is also underway.

IIT SAYS MEASURES ARE UNDERWAY

Banerjee said the external inquiry committee had begun functioning and that financial assistance for Kumar’s family had been approved through the institute’s benevolent fund. A separate fund has also been created through voluntary contributions from faculty, students and staff.

The institute said an external ombudsperson would be appointed next week and maintained that it had continued discussions with student representatives.

In a video message, Banerjee acknowledged that existing measures to support students were “not enough” and said the institute needed to adopt different approaches to rebuild trust.

STUDENTS QUESTION EFFECTIVENESS

IIT Delhi has pointed to round-the-clock counselling, psychiatric support, emergency intervention mechanisms, mentorship programmes and peer-support initiatives as part of its student-welfare framework.

It has also cited academic changes introduced in recent years, including a lighter first-semester workload, life-skills courses, smaller first-year classes and greater flexibility in credit distribution.

Students, however, have questioned how effectively these mechanisms work on the ground, arguing that several measures announced earlier have failed to produce visible changes. They say the continuing protest remains focused on accountability, transparency and institutional reforms following Kumar’s death.

- Ends