IIT Delhi Director Warns Of Action Against Protesting Students Over ‘Threatening Slogans’

IIT Delhi Director Rangan Banerjee has warned of disciplinary action against students accused of disrupting the peaceful functioning of the campus, as protests continue over the death of 31-year-old MSc Physics student Rishikesh Kumar.

In an email to students on Friday, Banerjee said the situation had “escalated significantly” on the night of August 27, when protesters extended their demonstrations into residential areas of the campus. He said a group gathered outside faculty housing between 10.30 pm and 12.30 am and used “unsavoury, humiliating and threatening language in their slogans”.

Banerjee said such conduct compromised the safety, privacy and peace of faculty members and their families, including children and elderly dependents. He warned that the institute would take disciplinary action against individuals disrupting residential areas, classes, academic activities and other campus functions.

Students, however, have disputed the characterisation of their slogans as threatening. Some protesters said their chants were calls for students and professors to come out in support of the agitation and maintained that they had video evidence of the slogans used during the march. They have also rejected allegations that the protest is being driven by outsiders.

The demonstrations entered their sixth consecutive day on Saturday. Students are demanding an independent investigation, accountability against institute officials, reforms in student welfare and compensation for Kumar’s family. They have also sought the resignation of senior officials, including the Dean and associate deans concerned with student welfare and hostel management, as well as the Head of the Physics Department.

Meanwhile, IIT Delhi has reconstituted its external inquiry committee into Kumar’s death. Retired Delhi High Court judge Justice Mukta Gupta has been appointed chairperson after former Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar recused himself, citing personal reasons. The panel also includes AIIMS Delhi psychiatry department head Pratap Sharan and two IIT Delhi student representatives.

The institute said the external inquiry has started functioning, financial assistance for Kumar’s family has been approved through its benevolent fund and a separate fund has been created through voluntary contributions from faculty, students and staff. An external ombudsperson is also expected to be appointed next week.

A Delhi Police investigation is also underway, with an FIR registered for alleged abetment of suicide against unknown persons. Kumar allegedly died by suicide after jumping from a building on the IIT Delhi campus on August 22.