A student of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), Darshan Solanki, who died by suicide had earlier told his mother about the caste-based discrimination on the institute's campus, a chargesheet filed in the case by police has said. As per the telephonic conversations that he had with his mother, he said that the behaviour of his fellow students changed as soon as they got to know about his caste. The statement given by Solanki's mother is a part of the chargesheet filed by the city police before a special court for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act).
As per the chargesheet which was filed on Tuesday, a fellow student Arman Khatri, who is out on bail following his arrest, abetted the suicide.
The deceased hailed from Ahmedabad and was a first-year student of the BTech (Chemical) course. He allegedly jumped from the seventh floor of a hostel building on the IITB campus on February 12, just a day after his semester exams ended, and died on the spot. Police claimed that Khatri had allegedly threatened Solanki's life after the latter spoke 'offensively' about the religion.
Solanki's mother in her statement said that during a telephonic conversation which took place in December last year, the deceased told his sister that there was caste-based discrimination at the premiere institute. The statement further read that he talked to his sister about this again when he visited them in January during the Makar Sankranti holiday.
Solanki called his mother on February 12 in the afternoon and said that he would visit her on February 14. During the call, he also said that they should invite all their relatives for a get-together. Two hours post the call, his father got a call informing him that his son had fallen from a hostel building. His sister and aunt in their statements to the police claimed that he did indeed face discrimination at the campus. His aunt said that he spoke about how he enjoyed his studies but, he also mentioned that some students and his friends always used to tell him that he was getting free education.
The chargesheet included statements from 55 witnesses, including some students and professors.
Meanwhile, a hearing in the case has been scheduled by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) on June 1, to which the investigation officer, Maharashtra DGP, Mumbai police commissioner, IIT-B director, Maharashtra chief secretary and the Mumbai suburban collector have been invited. The hearing has been initiated based on a complaint by the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), which described Darshan’s suicide as an institutional murder.