Education ministry sets up panel to examine IIIT student’s death

The Ministry of Education on Tuesday took cognisance of the death of a student on the IIIT Ranchi campus and constituted a three-member committee to examine the circumstances and related issues in detail.

The panel will be headed by Rajni Abbi, South Campus Director, University of Delhi, and will comprise a senior psychiatrist and a senior officer from the Ministry of Education.

It has been mandated to examine the circumstances surrounding the incident and assess the implementation of the guidelines, with particular reference to the availability and functioning of basic facilities, institutional support systems, counselling and mentoring arrangements, and student grievance redressal mechanisms. The panel will identify any systemic gaps and recommend appropriate measures to strengthen student well-being and help prevent the recurrence of such incidents. The committee shall interact with stakeholders and examine relevant records and documents as required.

Meanwhile, some student union members and leaders registered their anguish over the incident. All India Student Association (AISA) organised the protest march on Tuesday evening around Albert Ekka Chowk, demanding the resignation of the director of the IIIT. Devendra Nath Mahto, a student leader, visited the campus in support of the agitating students.

The incident came to light on Saturday night when hostel inmates alerted the institute administration after finding the room of the first-year student, Aditya, locked from the inside. The student was found hanging from the ceiling in his room.

Following the incident, students staged a sit-in protest and demanded the director’s resignation, alleging a lack of basic facilities at the institute. They have alleged that college authorities were at fault because the victim was not taken to the hospital on time.

The deceased was a native of Navgachhiya, Bhagalpur, in Bihar. However, at the time of filing this report, talks between the students and the institute’s local management were underway in the presence of police.

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