Now Reading: IIT Delhi forms probe panel after MSc student death, protest continues
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IIT Delhi forms probe panel after MSc student death, protest continues
IIT Delhi has set up an external inquiry committee led by former Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar, after the death of MSc Physics student Rishikesh Kumar. The committee includes a psychiatrist from AIIMS…
IIT Delhi has set up an external inquiry committee led by former Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar, after the death of MSc Physics student Rishikesh Kumar. The committee includes a psychiatrist from AIIMS Delhi and two student representatives, and must report within two weeks. The institute has also announced financial support for Kumar's family, and plans to appoint an ombudsperson and introduce a mentoring system.
Students, however, have rejected the committee as a routine measure that does not address root problems. They are protesting and demanding the resignation of the Dean of Student Affairs, Associate Deans and the Physics HOD. Protesters allege the counselling system dismisses distress with basic advice such as "just go rest" and functions only as a formality.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Student suicides on IIT campuses have drawn scrutiny of the hostel and counselling systems before. A 2023 IIT Bombay death led to a mental health task force, but critics say institutional reform remains slow. The grievance process students now reject, external committees followed by new oversight roles, has been deployed after earlier deaths without halting the pattern. The ombudsperson and mentoring system IIT Delhi now proposes are the same kind of post-crisis additions seen elsewhere. The concrete test will be whether the two-week committee report leads to changes students accept, or whether the cycle of protest, panel and status quo continues.
Source: timesnownews.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
