Education Ministry Forms Three-Member Panel to Probe IIIT-Ranchi Student’s Death

The Ministry of Education has formed a three-member committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death of IIIT-Ranchi student Aditya Kumar and assess the institute’s student support systems and basic facilities.

The committee will be headed by Prof. Rajni Abbi, Director of the University of Delhi’s South Campus, and include a senior psychiatrist and a senior Ministry official. It will examine facilities, counselling and mentoring arrangements, grievance redressal mechanisms and compliance with relevant guidelines, identify systemic gaps and recommend measures to improve student well-being. The Ministry is also making interim administrative arrangements to ensure the institute functions smoothly.

Meanwhile, students continued their protest for the third consecutive day on Tuesday, demanding the removal of Director Prof. Rajeev Srivastava and improvements in hostel facilities and other basic amenities. Demonstrators gathered at the hostel premises in Khelgaon Housing Society, raised slogans and displayed banners calling for the Director’s removal. They warned of intensifying the agitation if their demands were not addressed.

Students alleged that repeated complaints about canteen food, hostel security, CCTV cameras and surveillance had gone unresolved. They said they pay around Rs. 4 lakh annually in tuition fees and other charges but continue to face problems accessing basic facilities.

The protest intensified following concerns over emergency arrangements after Aditya’s death. Students alleged that lifts, ambulance services, electricity supply and oxygen support were inadequate, claiming timely medical assistance might have saved him. The allegation could not be independently verified.

On Monday, Board of Governors Chairman Lt. Gen. A.K. Bhatt (retd.), Director Srivastava and faculty and staff members met the protesters. Students presented their grievances and reiterated their demand for the Director’s removal. The chairman heard their concerns and indicated that efforts would be made to reach a conclusion by Tuesday.

Aditya, a resident of Bihar’s Bhagalpur district, was found unconscious and hanging from a ceiling fan in his hostel room on Saturday, October 10. He died while being taken to hospital. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.