IIT Delhi Forms External Panel to Investigate Student Death

The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi has formed a five-member External Inquiry Committee to investigate the death of MSc Physics student Rishikesh Kumar, following large-scale student protests on campus demanding accountability and an independent probe. The committee was constituted on August 25, 2026, two days after nearly 300 students gathered to protest, and it has been tasked with submitting its report within two weeks. Kumar, 31, died on August 22, 2026, after allegedly jumping from the sixth floor of the Lecture Hall Complex on the IIT Delhi campus. According to Delhi Police, a call was received around 8:33 AM by the Kishangarh police station, and the student was pronounced dead at the IIT Delhi hospital. Police investigations indicated he entered the campus at approximately 8:00 AM, proceeded to the sixth floor, and jumped from the front side of the building. No suicide note was recovered, and a mobile phone was taken for examination as part of the ongoing investigation. The External Inquiry Committee includes former Uttarakhand Director General of Police and IIT Delhi alumnus Ashok Kumar, AIIMS New Delhi psychiatry department head Prof.