IIT Bombay student death: Darshan Solanki’s father calls it murder; what we know so far

“When he came last month, he told me, and mom-dad, that there's caste discrimination happening there,” his sister Jhanvi Solanki told NDTV. His aunt added that Darshan had told them that many students did not like the fact that he was able to study for free at the educational institute.

The family emphasised that it wasn’t suicide. “It is not suicide. This is a clear case of murder. My brother was mentally and emotionally strong,” Jhanvi told the Times of India. She said that she did not suspect anyone in particular but believed that her brother was hit on the back of the head and was killed.

His father, Ramesh Solanki, added that he believed his son’s death was being covered up by the hospital and the institute. Ramesh told TOI that the autopsy of his son’s body was performed hastily and without the family’s permission. Additionally, Ramesh found no signs of injuries on his face despite having fallen to the ground from seven floors. The family said that Darshan had called them just hours before and seemed excited to return home after the end of the semester.

The Solanki family has demanded that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) be formed to investigate the death and probe allegations of caste discrimination at IIT Bombay.

The APPSC (Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle) IIT Bombay also alleged that first-year students belonging to Dalit, Bahujan, and Adivasi backgrounds faced harassment in the form of “anti-reservation sentiments and taunts of non-deserving and non-meritorious.”

The student group alleged that it was “no hidden fact that students from the SC/ST community face immense harassment and discrimination on the campus from students, faculties and employees” and called the incident “institutional murder”.

IIT Bombay has denied any caste-based discrimination on its campus. “IIT Bombay strongly refutes claims in some news articles about the tragic death of a 1st year BTech student that imply that the cause was discrimination, and say it amounted to 'institutional murder',” the official statement read.

The institute has also formed an internal committee to probe the allegations and has asked students with relevant information to come forward. IIT Bombay Director Subhasis Chaudhuri informed students that Professor Nand Kishore, the chief vigilance officer at the university, will be heading the internal probe committee and the committee would also include SC/ST student cell members.

“If you have any information that you believe may be relevant, please reach out to the committee by either meeting any of the committee members, or by emailing Prof Nand Kishore or Powai police,” the email read.

Chaudhuri added that IIT Bombay was working on revamping the UG syllabus for courses to make them “more relevant and motivating to students, and to reduce some of the stress”. However, he refused to comment on the possible cause of death before either the police or the internal committee probe submitted their reports.

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As part of the candlelight vigil requested by Ramesh, students at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal University Students’ Union had taken out a march on February 19. However, students were allegedly attacked by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). While the right-wing organisation has denied the accusations, it claimed that JNUSU members had insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the first Maratha emperor, during their vigil on Sunday.