IIT Delhi protest: Director warns action 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 over the alleged suicide of a 31-year-old MSc student entered their sixth consecutive day.

The warning followed a significant escalation in the demonstrations on Thursday night, when a group of protesters gathered outside faculty residences between 10.30 pm and 12.30 am. According to Banerjee, some protesters used “unsavoury, humiliating and threatening language in their slogans.”

In an email to students on Friday, the director said such conduct compromises the safety, privacy and peace of faculty members and their families, including young children and elderly dependents.

Banerjee made it clear that the institute would take disciplinary action against individuals found disrupting campus life. The proposed action could cover disruptions in residential areas, classrooms, academic activities and other institute operations.

The protests began following the death of a 31-year-old MSc student, Kumar, who allegedly died by suicide after jumping from a building on the IIT Delhi campus on 22 August.

Students have been demanding an independent investigation, action against institute officials and compensation for the deceased student's family.

Amid the continuing protests, IIT Delhi on Thursday also reconstituted its external probe committee investigating the circumstances surrounding the student's death. Retired Delhi High Court judge Mukta Gupta has been appointed to head the panel.

The committee was reconstituted a day after former Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar, who had initially been appointed its chairperson, recused himself citing “personal reasons”.

With tensions continuing on campus, the institute now faces the challenge of addressing students' demands while ensuring that protests do not spill into residential and academic spaces.

With PTI inputs