On Tuesday morning, more than 500 students were packed inside the Lecture Hall Complex at IIT-Delhi, and 2,000 others had gathered outside. Through the previous night, students had held a candlelight vigil, marching around the campus, and taken their agitation into the morning.The gates of the complex were secured, and security personnel had been instructed to refuse entry to all technical staff, parents and family members of students, and other visitors.Students had stayed away from most classes for two days, and on Tuesday, the IIT-D administration was broadcasting caution over megaphones, telling them that continuous absence from classrooms could create difficulties for their academic future.Also Read | IIT Delhi student’s death: Police register FIR after campus protestsTuesday was the third day of the protests that began after 31-year-old Rishikesh Kumar, an M.Sc Physics student, allegedly died by suicide after jumping from the sixth floor of a building on campus on Saturday.Another candlelight march was planned for Tuesday evening, even as talks between the administration and a six-member student delegation continued at the Director’s office in the main building. The administration has announced an “impartial” inquiry into the concerns of the students, and appealed for classes and academic activities to resume.The ongoing mobilisation is unusual at IIT-D, one of India’s most celebrated educational institutions. Students are demanding accountability for what they say is the eighth suicide on campus since 2023, and the response from IIT-D has so far done little to pacify them.Also Read | ‘8 deaths’: Rare protest at IIT Delhi after student’s suicide sparks anger“How are we expected to continue as though nothing has happened? There has been a death by suicide in this building. No suicide is a singular event. It happens because many things accumulate,” a student protester said. The student requested anonymity saying he feared he might be targeted by the administration.Story continues below this adMeanwhile, the Delhi police have registered an FIR for abetment of suicide and launched an investigation into the death by suicide of the 31-year-old IIT student.The FIR, which has been registered against “unknown,” was registered on the evening of the incident itself, a police officer said.Students have demanded the resignation of four IIT officials, an independent inquiry into Rishikesh’s death, and compensation of at least Rs 1 crore for his family.The administration has announced an External Inquiry Committee, financial assistance through its benevolent fund, and the creation of a separate fund through voluntary contributions from students, faculty and staff. But it hasn’t agreed to the demands for resignations and a specific compensation.Story continues below this ad“That is not enough. There was nothing in the mail [from the administration] about the resignation of the four people. The investigation panel has people whom the students don’t trust,” the student said.The five-member inquiry panel comprises Ashok Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of the Sports University of Haryana who is an IIT-D alumnus and a former police chief of Uttarakhand, Pratap Sharma, head of the Department of Psychiatry at AIIMS, New Delhi, two student representatives, and the IIT-D Registrar who is also the secretary and convener of the committee.At a meeting convened at the Lecture Hall Complex at 11.30 pm on Monday, the students rejected the administration’s response as “inadequate and evasive”, and announced that the protest would continue.IIT-D Director Rangan Banerjee said on Tuesday morning that the inquiry panel would investigate the “circumstances leading to the tragedy” of Rishikesh’s death.Story continues below this ad“The committee will discuss with relevant students, faculty and the concerned administrative offices, review protocols and processes, and make recommendations. The committee will be requested to complete its report within two weeks,” Banerjee said.On the demand for financial assistance, Banerjee said, “We will work towards providing financial support for Rishikesh’s family by reimbursing medical expenses and providing funding from the benevolent fund. Additionally we will also create a separate fund with voluntary contributions from faculty, students and staff to help the family.”Banerjee said the institute planned to appoint an external Ombudsperson to address any grievances that were not addressed by IIT’s internal systems. For students with mental health issues who need parental support, the institute would “create an additional support system of a faculty and student mentor”.Later on Tuesday, Banerjee met the protesting students and asked them to choose a five-member delegation for private discussions with him. He turned down the demand for a public discussion or a livesteamed meeting.Story continues below this adAfter their late-night meeting, the students demanded that the inquiry committee should be headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court or a High Court.They objected to former Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar’s inclusion in the panel, saying he had earlier linked protests by students to “radicalisation” and “digital terrorism”. The two student members on the panel should be “nominated collectively and publicly by the protesting students”, the resolution said.The resolution demanded a Rs-1 crore compensation for Kumar’s family, and a “transparent” disclosure of “all established protocols” on student mental health. It rejected the proposed faculty-and-student mentor system, saying what students needed was “access to peers, fair academic opportunities, and a supportive, empathetic campus”. The resolution called on the Director to reiterate that “no punitive or vindictive actions” would be taken against peaceful student protesters. Notice board in one of the main corridors inside the Lecture Hall Complex, IIT Delhi.On a hallway chalkboard inside the Lecture Hall Complex, someone had scrawled in all-caps the students’ core demands: “INVESTIGATION, RESIGNATION, COMPENSATION”. There was a reminder that eight deaths had occurred in 30 months, and that “WE ARE STUDENTS, NOT COGS IN YOUR MACHINE”.Story continues below this adA student who said he knew Rishikesh closely said, “People are charged up right now. There is no need for any leadership, students are organising organically.”No student was willing to speak on the record; they cited disciplinary rules, the fear of repercussions, and the fact that many PhD scholars were dependent on government funding. Several protesters claimed they had been advised not to speak to reporters.Students complained of an unsympathetic and unforgiving atmosphere on the highly competitive campus where almost everyone was a high achiever. “Whenever we try to talk about problems, we are told, ‘You should leave if you can’t cope.’ There is an absence of empathy,” a student said.An IIT-D alumna of the 2022 batch told The Indian Express: “This kind of protest is unheard of on campus. But the administration was apathetic even in my time. There were attempts at suicide by two students, which were taken casually,” she said.Story continues below this adProf Banerjee said on Tuesday that Rishikesh had joined the MSc Physics programme in July 2025, and had been staying at Shivalik Hostel. He had a “very good academic performance” in his first semester, Banerjee said.In March 2026, Rishikesh was detected with mental health issues, and was advised by the institute’s counsellor and psychiatrist to remain under continuous parental supervision, Banerjee said.Rishikesh’s request to withdraw from the second semester was approved, and he went to live outside the campus with a parent.After Rishikesh returned to campus in July, his medical records were reviewed by the institute’s counsellor and psychiatrist, who again advised him to remain under parental supervision, Banerjee said.Story continues below this adKumar was living outside the campus with his mother, and his request to withdraw from the third semester was later approved by the Physics Department, he said.