Maharashtra forms SIT to probe IIT Bombay student’s death

Darshan Solanki, a first-year student of BTech (chemical) programme at IIT Bombay, allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the seventh floor of a hostel building located on the campus on February 12. 

The Maharashtra government has formed a special investigation team (SIT) headed by a senior police officer to conduct a probe into the alleged suicide of an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay student, Darshan Solanki. 

Darshan Solanki, a first-year student of BTech (chemical) programme at IIT Bombay, allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the seventh floor of a hostel building located on the campus on February 12. His family had claimed that he faced discrimination at IIT Bombay for belonging to a Scheduled Caste community and suspected foul play in his death. 

Former Vice Chancellor of Mumbai University Bhalchandra Mungekar had demanded a special investigation team (SIT) should be set up to investigate the alleged suicide of Darshan Solanki. He said, “It is not an accidental case, but institutional murder. The FIR should be filed with sections from SC-ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.” Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani had also demanded a probe by the SIT into Solanki's death. 

The SIT, headed by Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Lakhmi Gautam, will revisit the case and record the statements of Solanki’s parents, officials of the institute and students who were witness to the incident, a police official said. 

It will also conduct a probe into the allegations made by various student groups that Solanki faced caste discrimination, he said. After Solanki's death, the Powai police here had registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and recorded the statements of multiple people, including IITB students. 

The institute Director Subhasis Chaudhuri had recently shot an email to all students of the institute saying that the institute is working actively to create an inclusive campus where all students feel at home.  

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