New Delhi [India], August 29 IIT Delhi Director Rangan Banerjee has warned protesting students of disciplinary action, saying the institute would act against individuals disrupting the peaceful functioning of the campus, including residential areas, classes and academic activities.
In an email to students, Banerjee said the situation had "escalated significantly" on the night of August 27, when a group of protesters extended their agitation into the campus residential zones and staged demonstrations directly in front of faculty housing between 10.30 pm and 12.30 am.
The email came after scores of students marched across the IIT Delhi campus as part of protests over the death of 31-year-old student Rishikesh Kumar, demanding investigation, compensation and resignation.
Banerjee alleged that protesters resorted to "unsavoury, humiliating and threatening language" in their slogans, saying such behaviour compromised the "safety, privacy, and peace" of faculty members and their families, including young children and elderly dependents.
"The Institute will take disciplinary actions against individuals disrupting the peaceful functioning of the campus, including residential areas, classes, academic and other activities," Banerjee wrote in the email.
Reacting to the Director's communication, the protesting students, in a press statement, reiterated that their core demands remained "Investigation, Compensation and Resignation."
The students also alleged that Delhi Police personnel in civilian clothes had entered the campus and recorded students during a meeting on August 26. They said this violated assurances given by the Director that no action would be taken against protesting students by the administration or Delhi Police.
The protesting students further rejected allegations that the agitation was being instigated by outsiders or external forces, saying they "categorically reject" such allegations.
They also said the protesting students had "no political affiliation, no hidden motive and no singular leadership", describing the movement as "organic and collective."
The protests have been continuing since the death of 31-year-old MSc Physics student Rishikesh Kumar, who died by suicide at the institute on August 22.
Students have been demanding an independent investigation into his death, compensation for his family and the resignation of those responsible, with the agitation continuing on campus for the past several days.