Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi) has constituted a final external inquiry committee to probe the circumstances surrounding the death of a 31-year-old MSc Physics student. The committee will submit its report within two weeks.
The committee will be headed by Justice Mukta Gupta, a retired judge of the Delhi High Court. It will also include Professor Pratap Sharan, head of the Department of Psychiatry at AIIMS New Delhi; four student representatives; and the Registrar, who will serve as Secretary and Convenor, IIT Delhi said in a statement.
The committee will interact with relevant students, faculty members, and officials from concerned administrative offices. It will review existing protocols and processes and make recommendations based on its findings.
The panel has been reconstituted after former Uttarakhand Director General of Police Ashok Kumar, who had been named as the chairperson of an earlier committee formed by IIT Delhi to investigate the student's death, withdrew from the inquiry, citing prior commitments.
Students had opposed Kumar's inclusion in the committee, citing his alleged past remarks about students and activism. They had also called for a signature campaign among alumni to press their demands.
The students' protest is continuing, with protesters demanding the resignation of the Dean of Student Welfare and action against those responsible for the student's death.
In an email to students on Tuesday, the IIT Delhi Director said the committee would interact with students, faculty members and administrative offices, review existing protocols and processes, and submit its report within two weeks.
The constitution of an external inquiry committee was among the key demands raised by the protesting students.