Justice Mukta Gupta to Head IIT Delhi Panel Probing MSc Student's Suicide
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has appointed retired Delhi High Court judge Justice Mukta Gupta as the new chairperson of its seven-member external inquiry committee probing the alleged suicide of a 31-year-old MSc student on campus.
The appointment comes after former Uttarakhand DGP and IIT Delhi alumnus Ashok Kumar recused himself from heading the panel, citing prior commitments. The institute had constituted the committee on August 25, naming Kumar as chairperson. However, a student delegation met the director later that day to raise concerns over potential conflicts of interest due to Kumar being an alumnus.
The committee was set up to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of the MSc Physics student, who allegedly died by suicide after jumping from the sixth floor of the lecture hall complex on Saturday morning. Police stated that no suicide note was recovered from the scene and that an investigation into the circumstances of his death is underway.
Alongside Justice Mukta Gupta, the panel comprises All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi psychiatry department head Professor Pratap Sharma, two student representatives, and the IIT Delhi registrar, who serves as secretary and convener.
Meanwhile, student demonstrations on the IIT Delhi campus entered their third consecutive day on August 26. Protesting students have demanded the resignation of the head of the physics department as well as the dean and associate deans of the student welfare office. They have also called for an independent investigation into alleged institutional lapses, Rs 1 crore in compensation for the deceased student's family, and written assurances that no disciplinary action will be taken against participants in the protest.
According to minutes of meetings shared by student groups, demonstrators plan to escalate their campaign by reaching out to the broader alumni network through a signature drive.
The ongoing unrest also led the IIT administration to cancel the 'National Conference of President Awardee Teachers and Eminent Educator', which had been scheduled to take place on August 26 at the Auditorium in the Research and Innovation Park and was set to be attended by Union Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar.
