The IIIT-Ranchi student protest entered its third day on Monday, with students demanding the resignation of institute director Prof Rajiv Srivastava after the death of a first-year student and raising concerns about inadequate hostel facilities at the Khelgaon complex.
The agitation began after Aditya Kumar, 20, was found dead in his hostel room late on Saturday night in an alleged case of suicide. Students have called for the director to be held accountable and to step down. They have also alleged irregular power supply, poor food quality, inadequate drinking water and insufficient transportation arrangements at the institute’s residential facilities.
The protest places the functioning of student accommodation and the institutional responsibility for campus services at the centre of the dispute. The reported grievances extend beyond the circumstances surrounding Kumar’s death to basic services that affect daily life for students living at the Khelgaon complex.
On Sunday, students held a dharna outside the complex gate. Board of Governors chairperson Lt Gen (Retd) AK Bhatt, Director Rajiv Srivastava and faculty members met the protesters during the demonstration. Bhatt sought time to examine the students’ grievances but said the director could not be removed without due process and proper grounds.
The response indicates that the demand for the director’s resignation is now linked to both the student death and broader questions about the administration of the institute’s residential and support facilities. The students resumed their agitation outside the hostels on Monday evening after a brief pause.
Police personnel were deployed at the protest site to maintain law and order. Police have registered a case and begun investigating Kumar’s death. His hostel room has been sealed, while CCTV footage connected to efforts to shift him to hospital is being examined, a police officer told the Times of India.
The investigation is continuing, and the reported allegations regarding hostel services remain part of the grievances raised by the protesting students. The institute’s Board of Governors has sought time to examine those concerns, while the police probe will determine the circumstances surrounding the student’s death.
