GG News Bureau
Mumbai, 28th Feb. The Maharashtra government has formed a special investigation team (SIT) led by a senior police officer to investigate the alleged suicide of an 18-year-old student at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
Darshan Solanki, a first-year student of the B Tech (Chemical) course at the IITB from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, allegedly committed suicide on February 12 by jumping off the seventh floor of a hostel building on campus.
His family claimed he was discriminated against at the IITB because he belonged to the Scheduled Caste community and suspected foul play in his death.
Gujarat Congress MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani had demanded an investigation by the SIT into Solanki’s death, terming the episode as “suspicious”.
On February 24, the government had ordered a probe into Solanki’s death, the official said.
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, he 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.
“Now, the SIT will conduct a probe into the case,” the official added.
On February 16, a Mumbai Police team traveled to Gujarat to record the statements of Solanki’s parents.
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