Ranchi: The ministry of education has constituted a three-member committee to investigate the circumstances surrounding the alleged suicide of a first-year student at the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Ranchi, last week.According to a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau, the committee will be headed by Rajni Abbi, director of Delhi University’s South Campus. A senior ministry official and a senior psychiatrist will be the other members.The panel will examine the circumstances leading to 20-year-old Aditya Kumar’s death, with particular focus on the availability and functioning of basic facilities, institutional support systems, counselling and mentoring arrangements, and the institute’s grievance redressal mechanism.It will also identify shortcomings in the institute’s administration and recommend measures to strengthen student welfare and prevent similar incidents in the future. As part of the inquiry, the committee will interact with stakeholders and examine relevant records and documents.The move comes amid continuing protests by IIIT students over Aditya’s death. The students have demanded accountability from the institute’s administration and called for the resignation of its director, Rajeev Srivastava.The ministry has also said that interim administrative arrangements are being put in place to ensure the smooth functioning of the institute while safeguarding the interests and welfare of students.IIIT-Ranchi operates under the public-private partnership model and is among the country’s institutes of national importance focused on information technology education and research.
