Late-night protest at IIT-Delhi over student suicide, campus tense

As protests continued into the night, several parts of the campus remained cordoned off, with access to buildings and corridors restricted. Students said even a café area on campus was barricaded, and those passing through corridors were asked to show identification. Students have called a follow-up meeting for 8.30 am on Wednesday in front of the Lecture Hall Complex.

The scale of the protest has been unusual for IIT-Delhi, one of India’s most celebrated educational institutions. On Tuesday morning, more than 500 students packed the Lecture Hall Complex, with another 2,000 gathered outside.

Students held a candlelight vigil through the previous night, marching around the campus and continuing their agitation into the morning. The complex gates were secured, with security personnel instructed to refuse entry to technical staff, parents, family members of students, and other visitors.

The administration has so far offered an External Inquiry Committee, financial assistance through its benevolent fund, and a separate fund for voluntary contributions from students, faculty and staff – but has not agreed to the demands for resignations or specific compensation.

At a late-night meeting on Monday, students rejected this response as “inadequate and evasive” and voted to continue the protest. They have also objected to the inclusion of former Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar on the five-member inquiry panel, citing past remarks he made linking student protests to “radicalisation,” and have demanded the panel instead be headed by a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge.

IIT-D students protesting; (from left) Rishikesh Kumar, mother Asha Poddar and Kumar’s brother Abhishek. (Special Arrangement)

Banerjee has said the inquiry committee would examine the “circumstances leading to the tragedy” and submit its report within two weeks. He has said the institute would reimburse Kumar’s family’s medical expenses, provide support through the benevolent fund, appoint an external Ombudsperson for unresolved grievances, and create a mentor system pairing students with faculty for additional support – a proposal students have rejected, saying what they need instead is “access to peers, fair academic opportunities, and a supportive, empathetic campus.”

According to Banerjee, Kumar had joined the M.Sc Physics programme in July 2025 and was staying at Shivalik Hostel, with a strong academic record in his first semester. He was diagnosed with mental health issues in March 2026 and advised by the institute’s counsellor and psychiatrist to remain under continuous parental supervision.

His request to withdraw from that semester was approved, and he moved off-campus to live with a parent. After returning to campus in July, his medical records were reviewed again, and he was once more advised to remain under parental supervision; he was living off-campus with his mother at the time of his death, and his request to withdraw from the current semester had since been approved by the Physics Department.