New Delhi: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has replaced the chairperson of its five-member external committee investigating the death of 31-year-old MSc Physics student Rishikesh Kumar.

Retired Delhi High Court judge Justice Mukta Gupta will now head the inquiry panel after former Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar stepped down, citing prior commitments.

Justice Mukta Gupta to lead inquiry

The reconstituted committee will include Justice Mukta Gupta as chairperson and Professor Pratap Sharan, head of the Department of Psychiatry at AIIMS New Delhi. Four student representatives and the IIT Delhi Registrar, who will serve as secretary and convenor, are also part of the panel.

The committee has been asked to submit its report within two weeks. It will speak to students, faculty members and officials from relevant administrative offices and examine existing institutional protocols and processes before making recommendations.

Students continue protests on campus

The change comes amid continuing student protests at IIT Delhi. Students have been demanding an independent investigation, the resignation of senior officials, compensation for Kumar’s family and changes to student support systems.

IIT Delhi announced the External Inquiry Committee on August 25, following a student protest on August 24. Ashok Kumar, an IIT Delhi alumnus and former Uttarakhand DGP, was initially appointed chairperson but recused himself from the panel on August 26, according to sources cited in the report.

Questions surrounding Kumar’s death

Kumar joined IIT Delhi’s MSc Physics programme in July 2025. His family alleged that after he took a medical break, repeated requests for hostel accommodation were not addressed. His brother also alleged that Kumar was denied a family quarter and assigned an academic project to work on alone.

IIT Delhi has said Kumar received medical and counselling support and that his requests to withdraw from the second and third semesters were approved.

The allegations have not been established and are expected to be examined by the external panel.

Kumar died on August 22 after falling from the sixth floor of the Lecture Hall Complex. Police said no suicide note was found and are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.