Archive · 25 Aug 2026
IIT Delhi Students Demand Probe After Rishikesh Kumar’s Death
Rishikesh Kumar was a 31-year-old physics student at IIT Delhi.
He died after jumping from the sixth floor of a campus building.
Students held protests and asked the institute to investigate what happened.
They also want better help for students facing mental health problems.
Some students said Rishikesh did not receive hostel accommodation or an academic project.
They also said he may not have received enough counselling.
The Cockroach Janata Party supported the protesters and called for accountability.
IIT Delhi has created a five-member panel to examine the circumstances of his death.
Thirty-one-year-old MSc Physics student Rishikesh Kumar died after jumping from IIT Delhi’s sixth-floor Lecture Hall Complex.
Hundreds of students protested on August 24, demanding an independent inquiry, accountability and student welfare reforms.
Students alleged that hostel denial, lack of project allocation and inadequate mental health support contributed to Kumar’s distress.
The Cockroach Janata Party backed the students and called Kumar’s case a warning about structural problems at IITs.
IIT Delhi formed a five-member panel including a former police chief, psychiatry professor, student representatives and the registrar.
- Who
- Rishikesh Kumar, a 31-year-old second-year MSc Physics student; protesting IIT Delhi students; the Cockroach Janata Party; and an IIT Delhi inquiry panel.
- What
- Kumar died after jumping from the sixth floor of IIT Delhi’s Lecture Hall Complex, prompting protests and demands for an independent inquiry and reforms.
- When
- The death occurred around 8 a.m.; students protested on Monday, August 24, and the CJP issued its statement on Tuesday, August 25, 2026.
- Where
- The incident took place at the Lecture Hall Complex of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.
- Why
- Students and the CJP are seeking accountability and improved welfare and mental health support, citing alleged hostel denial, lack of project allocation and insufficient counselling.
Students and CJP
IIT Delhi’s Institutional Response
Need for accountability
Students and CJP
Students and the CJP called for an independent inquiry, accountability and changes to student welfare systems, saying Kumar’s death was treated like a routine incident.
IIT Delhi’s Institutional Response
IIT Delhi constituted a five-member panel to examine the circumstances surrounding Kumar’s death; the article does not report the panel’s conclusions.
Possible contributing factors
Students and CJP
Students said denial of hostel accommodation, lack of academic project allocation and insufficient mental health support may have contributed to Kumar’s distress.
IIT Delhi’s Institutional Response
The institute’s position on these allegations is not stated in the article.
Wider institutional concern
Students and CJP
The CJP described the reported deaths across IITs as evidence of a structural problem requiring immediate attention.
IIT Delhi’s Institutional Response
The article reports IIT Delhi’s creation of an inquiry panel but does not provide an institutional response to the broader criticism.
- Student
- Rishikesh Kumar, a 31-year-old second-year MSc Physics student
- Incident site
- IIT Delhi’s Lecture Hall Complex
- Student demands
- Independent inquiry, accountability, welfare reforms, resignations of a Dean and Associate Deans, and compensation for Kumar’s family
- Inquiry panel
- A five-member panel established by IIT Delhi
- Panel members
- A former police chief, a psychiatry professor, two student representatives and the registrar
- Reported figures
- The CJP said IIT Delhi recorded eight deaths by suicide in three years and IITs recorded 65 in five years
- Personal circumstances
- Kumar had lost his father the previous year and was reportedly dealing with mental health issues