Overview
- A 31‑year‑old MSc Physics student, Rishikesh Kumar, died after an apparent fall from the sixth floor of IIT Delhi’s Lecture Hall Complex on August 22, and police recovered his mobile phone for forensic examination.
- Delhi Police have registered an abetment‑to‑suicide case against unidentified persons and are obtaining the student’s counselling records as part of a criminal probe.
- IIT Delhi has set up a five‑member external inquiry panel chaired by a former DGP with AIIMS psychiatry representation and given it a two‑week deadline to report on procedures and institutional lapses.
- Hundreds of students staged a sit‑in that forced a pause in classes and pressed demands including independent membership on the probe, resignations of senior student‑welfare officials, ₹1 crore compensation and protections for protesters; the institute has offered medical reimbursements, a ₹6 lakh benevolent fund contribution and agreed to revisit a panel member.
- Protesters and the student’s family allege denial of hostel accommodation and academic support after his return from treatment, and activists cite a reported cluster of campus suicides since 2023 that has focused public attention on mental‑health access, grievance mechanisms and possible policy changes at IITs.