IIT Delhi Student Death Probe Faces Major Setback As Former Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar Recuses Himself From Inquiry Panel

New Delhi: The chair of the committee investigating the death of IIT Delhi student Rishikesh Kumar has stepped down from the panel, citing prior commitments, sources confirmed to ANI. A new chairperson will be named soon. Originally, the five-member External Inquiry Committee included Ashok Kumar, a former Uttarakhand DGP and IIT Delhi graduate, AIIMS New Delhi psychiatrist Prof Pratap Sharma, two student representatives and the institute's Registrar, who served as secretary and convenor.

According to a source, the committee's chair had prior engagements that prevented him from effectively participating. Protesters at IIT Delhi had also objected to the proposed committee's composition, demanding a former High Court judge lead the inquiry. Following Rishikesh's death on August 22 from a fall from the sixth floor of the Lecture Hall Complex, the institute agreed to appoint an external inquiry panel to probe the circumstances leading to the incident.