IIT Delhi students protest MSc peer's death, seek Rs 1 crore compensation and probe

IIT Delhi students protested after MSc Physics student Rishikesh Kumar died following a fall on campus. The demands include 1 crore compensation, the resignation of Deans and Head and an independent probe into the matter of suicide.Students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi on Monday protested the death of a 31-year-old MSc Physics student, demanding the resignation of the Head of the Physics Department and the Deans, an independent inquiry, accountability from senior officials, and changes in the institute’s handling of student welfare and mental-health concerns.The demandS also mention the compensation of Rs 1 crore rupees.The student, Rishikesh Kumar, died on Saturday after falling from the sixth floor of the Lecture Hall Complex on the IIT Delhi campus. According to the Delhi Police, a PCR call was received at around 8.33 am on August 22.Kumar was taken to the institute’s hospital, where he was declared dead. Police said he had entered the campus through the main gate at around 8 am and later taken a lift to the sixth floor. Police have said no suicide note was found.STUDENTS SEEK INDEPENDENT INQUIRYIn a statement circulated by students, they alleged that decisions involving housing, academic projects and access to institutional resources had contributed to Kumar feeling isolated and without institutional support. They described what they called the Student Affairs Office’s “moral profiling” of the student and sought an examination of the decisions taken by officials.The students have demanded an independent investigation into the events leading up to Kumar’s death, including the alleged non-allocation of housing facilities, denial of academic projects and the role of the institute hospital administration.They have also sought details of the involvement of the Student Counselling Services, Associate Dean Student Welfare, Dean of Student Affairs and the Director in cases involving students experiencing mental-health difficulties.Students have sought the resignation of the Dean and Associate Deans for Student Welfare and Academic and Hostel Management, as well as the Head of the Department of Physics.They have also demanded compensation of 1 crore for Kumar’s family. The demand appears in a handwritten addition to the students’ statement, which also calls for no punitive action against students participating in the protest.The students have further demanded that classes in the Lecture Hall Complex and across the campus be called off on Monday, August 24. They said academic activities should not continue “as usual” after the death of a student.According to the protesters, 8 IIT Delhi students have died by suicide on campus over the past 30 months. This figure and the circumstances of the deaths should be verified against official institute and police records.QUESTIONS OVER ACADEMIC SUPPORTAt a protest outside IIT Delhi on Sunday, members of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union also demanded an inquiry into what they described as “institutional negligence”. One protester questioned why Kumar had allegedly not been given projects and called for an examination of the administrative decisions affecting him.The All India Students’ Association also held a protest outside IIT Delhi on Sunday, demanding an independent investigation and greater transparency in decisions affecting students’ academic futures and access to counselling.The organisation said the death should not be viewed only through the lens of an individual mental-health problem and called for greater institutional accountability.Those questions will need to be separated from speculation about the cause of death as the police investigation proceeds. The students, meanwhile, have made clear that they want the institute to address both the circumstances of Kumar’s death and what they see as wider shortcomings in student welfare.As of Monday, the students were seeking a response from the administration on their demands, including the proposed independent inquiry, resignations, compensation and protection for protesters.- EndsPublished By: Rishab ChauhanPublished On: Aug 24, 2026 16:20 IST