IIT Delhi students said that they will continue their stir as the administration has not fulfilled all their demands.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Justice Mukta Gupta, a retired judge of the Delhi High Court, will now head the inquiry panel set up to examine the circumstances leading to the death of an IIT Delhi student, officials said on Thursday, even as student protests continued on campus for a fourth day.The panel was reconstituted a day after former Uttarakhand Director General of Police Ashok Kumar, who was appointed as chair of the probe panel, recused himself from the committee. Students had objected to his inclusion, citing his purported comments on recent youth-led agitations, linking the protesters with “radicalisation”.“A new panel has been constituted, with Justice Mukta Gupta as the chairperson. The other members include Pratap Sharan, HoD Psychiatry, AIIMS Delhi. Two student representatives and the IIT Delhi Registrar will also be part of the external probe panel,” an IIT Delhi official said.The death of the 31-year-old MSc student, allegedly by suicide on the campus on August 22, has sparked massive uproar among several student bodies. Students at the institute have been protesting since Monday against “systemic issues”, which they claim have led to the deaths of eight students by suicide over the past 30 months, two of them this year alone.On Thursday, students reiterated their demands that include ₹1 crore as compensation to be paid to the mother of the deceased and the resignation of the Associate Dean of Student Welfare. The protesters said they were in the process of collecting evidence from other students, both former and present, on alleged “insensitive” remarks made by the institute’s Dean to students on multiple occasions as well as collating evidence from student on faculty and staff members allegedly making “tone-deaf and disparaging” comments on death by suicides.In response to the demands of the students, the IIT Delhi administration, in a statement, said it is committed to ensuring students’ well-being and enhancing its support infrastructure with multiple steps already being implemented.‘For student well-being’Listing some of the measures, the institute said it has taken steps to introduce a new curriculum in 2025 that reduces first-semester credit loads and has removed the minimum CGPA criteria for BTech degree. It also said it has increased mentorship and faculty interaction through the Student-Teacher Interaction Council (STIC), which hosts semester-wise get-togethers during which the faculty actively engages students through open door office hours, project guidance, hostel involvement, and class committee feedback loops. When it comes to mental healthcare infrastructure for student well-being, it has counsellors available 24/7, psychiatrists (including AIIMS/VIMHANS experts); fully reimbursed external care, emergency response protocol, Academic Unit Wellness Committees and a buddy programme. The institute said it also has grievance redressal channels, including a Board for Student Welfare, specialised SC/ST/OBC cells, hostel wardens, the Internal Complaints Committee, and confidential counselling channels – ensuring transparent resolution.(Those in distress can contact Tele MANAS at 14416 to seek help.) Published - August 28, 2026 01:16 am IST
