Student suicide: IIT Delhi likely to give second extension to probe committee

A five-member committee constituted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi to probe the circumstances surrounding the death by suicide of a 31-year-old student did not submit its finding by the September 30 deadline and is likely to seek an extension to submit, HT has learnt

A five-member committee constituted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi to probe the circumstances surrounding the death by suicide of a 31-year-old student did not submit its finding by the September 30 deadline and is likely to seek an extension to submit, HT has learnt. If granted, this would be the second extension given to the committee.

A 31-year-old Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi student, pursuing an MSc in Physics, jumped from the sixth floor of the Lecture Hall Complex (LHC) at the IIT Delhi campus on August 23. (HT Archive)

“Some students’ statements had to be recorded again, which caused a delay in the process. However, all statements have now been recorded, and the compilation work is expected to take another couple of days. A further one-week extension is likely to be sought,” they told HT.

A 31-year-old Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi student, pursuing an MSc in Physics, jumped from the sixth floor of the Lecture Hall Complex (LHC) at the IIT Delhi campus on August 23. It kicked off days of protests at the institute with students seeking an independent probe into alleged institutional lapses that led to the death.

IIT initially constituted the committee on August 25. However, former Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar, who was appointed as chair of the probe panel, recused himself from the committee citing “personal reasons”.

The panel was then reconstituted on August 27 with the appointment of retired Delhi High Court judge Mukta Gupta as its chairperson and given a two-week deadline to submit the report. On September 14, the institute extended the deadline by another two weeks.