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On August 24, students boycotted classes and staged a protest at the Lecture Hall Complex, demanding an independent inquiry and accountability for officials found responsible.
Students protesting at IIT Delhi. (Image: X/@aditi_jnu)
The death of MSc Physics student Rishikesh Kumar at IIT Delhi has triggered protests on campus and renewed questions over student welfare, administrative accountability and the institute’s systems for supporting students in distress.
On August 24, students boycotted classes and staged a protest at the Lecture Hall Complex, demanding an independent inquiry, accountability for officials found responsible, Rs 1 crore compensation for Kumar’s family and reforms in student support systems. They also sought the resignation of senior officials, including the Dean of Student Affairs, the Associate Dean (Student Welfare), the Associate Dean (Hostel Management) and the Head of the Physics Department.
VIDEO | Delhi: Students stage protest at IIT Delhi following the death of an MSc Physics student.BTech second-year student Saksham says, “A protest has been going on at IIT Delhi for the past two days. An MSc Physics student, aged 31 who was in his second year, died by suicide… pic.twitter.com/p0zHXAki3g
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 25, 2026
IIT Delhi has since constituted a five-member External Inquiry Committee. The panel includes former Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar, AIIMS Delhi Psychiatry Department head Pratap Sharma, two student representatives and the institute’s Registrar as secretary and convenor. It has been asked to examine the circumstances surrounding Kumar’s death, interact with students, faculty and administrative offices, review existing protocols and submit its report within two weeks.
However, the allegations raised by students have not yet been established. The question of whether any administrative lapse contributed to Kumar’s death is now part of the inquiry.
Who is Professor Sreedevi Upadhyayula?
Professor Sreedevi Upadhyayula is a faculty member in IIT Delhi’s Department of Chemical Engineering and currently serves as Associate Dean (Student Welfare). IIT Delhi’s administration page lists her in that position.
She is also identified by IIT Delhi’s Student Affairs Council as Associate Dean (Student Welfare), placing her within the institute’s student-welfare administration.
Her name has come into focus in the present controversy because students have demanded the resignation of senior Student Affairs officials and have raised questions about the handling of Kumar’s accommodation, academic and welfare-related concerns. The demand itself, however, does not establish individual responsibility.
Sreedevi Upadhyayula is a Chemical Engineering professor
Upadhyayula’s academic background is in Chemical Engineering, not Physics or Student Affairs.
According to her IIT Delhi profile, she completed her B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from Andhra University in 1990 and her M.Tech in Chemical Engineering from IIT Kharagpur in 1993, specialising in Petroleum Refinery Engineering and Petrochemical Technology.
Before returning to academics, she worked for around five years as a Senior Design Engineer in both the public and private sectors. Her profile says she worked at BHPV Ltd. in Visakhapatnam and APL in Chennai.
She joined the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, in 1998 as a CSIR Senior Research Fellow. She subsequently completed her PhD in Chemical Engineering jointly with NCL Pune and IIT Kharagpur. Her IIT Delhi profile records that her thesis was submitted in July 2001 and defended in August 2003.
She then worked as a postdoctoral research fellow in Chemical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, US, before joining IIT Kharagpur as an Assistant Professor in January 2004.
When did she join IIT Delhi?
Upadhyayula joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at IIT Delhi in April 2006 and has remained associated with the institute since then. She is currently a Professor (HAG) and CLASS of 66 Chair in the department.
Her research work focuses broadly on catalysis, renewable energy and the conversion of waste and greenhouse gases into useful fuels and chemicals. IIT Delhi has also highlighted her research in areas such as low-cost hydrogen production and catalytic conversion of biomass.
Why are students demanding her resignation?
The demand comes in the context of the wider student protest following Kumar’s death.
Students have alleged that Kumar faced difficulties relating to accommodation, academic requirements and access to institutional support. They have called for an independent investigation into whether such issues contributed to his distress. They have also demanded accountability from senior officials responsible for student welfare and administration.
The administration, meanwhile, has presented a different account of Kumar’s interaction with the institute’s support system. According to the Director’s communication, Kumar joined the MSc Physics programme in July 2025 and initially had good academic standing. His mental-health difficulties emerged in March 2026, following which the institute’s counsellor and psychiatrist advised continuous parental supervision. His second-semester withdrawal was approved, and he subsequently lived off campus with a parent.
The institute said that after Kumar returned to campus in July 2026, his medical records were reviewed again and he was once more advised to remain under parental supervision. The Physics Department subsequently approved his request to withdraw from the third semester, according to the administration’s account.
What happens next?
The External Inquiry Committee is now expected to examine the competing accounts and determine whether there were gaps in IIT Delhi’s procedures or response mechanisms.
The institute has also announced plans for an external ombudsperson for complaints that cannot be resolved internally and an additional faculty-student mentor support system for students who require parental supervision. It has also said it will facilitate financial assistance for Kumar’s family through voluntary contributions.
For now, Professor Upadhyayula’s role in the controversy is based on the students’ demand for accountability, not on any finding of wrongdoing. The inquiry is expected to establish whether any administrative failures occurred and, if so, where responsibility lies.
More than 65 IIT students have died by suicide in the last five years.
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August 25, 2026, 15:35 IST
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