The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi announced on Tuesday that it is deeply saddened by the death of a 31-year-old MSc student. In response to this tragic event, the institute will form an external inquiry committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.
A 31-year-old, pursuing an MSc in Physics, is said to have jumped to death from the sixth floor of the institute’s Lecture Hall Complex on campus on Saturday, August 22. The incident triggered widespread outrage among IIT-Delhi students with huge protests at the campus on Monday, August 24.
Students carried placards that read “IIT-D: Dreams or Death,” as they demanded the resignation of the dean and associate deans of the Students’ Welfare Office, as well as the head of the physics department.
However, the insitute didn’t refer to claims of suicide in its statement released today, but said that the circumstances of the death are under probe. “We demand an independent investigation into the lapses committed by the administration that made the student take his life, address issues like non-allocation of housing facility, denial of academic projects…clear disclosure of the institute’s mental health protocol regarding students seeking counselling. “He was assessed and supported by the Institute Psychiatrist, following which his family informed that they want to take him to a specialised hospital. Thereafter, he underwent approximately one month of inpatient treatment at the specialised hospital before being discharged,” the statement read.
We also demand the resignation of the dean and associate deans (ADSW and ADHM) in the students affairs office and the head of the department, physics, and we demand the family of the student to be compensated adequately and compassionately with ₹ 1 crore,” the demand charter submitted by the protesting students dated read.
“The Institute stands with his family and friends in this moment of immense grief,” IIT-Delhi said in a statement, adding that its students, faculty and other staff were contributing to extend financial support to the student’s family. This was the institute’s first reaction to the death of the student and came following huge protests at the Delhi campus seeking “institutional accountability” for the student’s death.
