IIT Bombay 'suicide': Students approach Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis on Darshan Solanki's birthday

Mumbai: Nearly forty days after the unfortunate demise of Darshan Solanki, students from IIT Bombay's Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC), among other student groups, have written an email to the Deputy Chief Minister (Dy CM) of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis.

The students sent the email on March 21, 2023, which would have been Darshan Solanki's nineteenth birthday.

The student collective has requested Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis to ensure that a fresh First Information Report (FIR) is filed in Darshan's case.

Last week, on March 16, Darshan's parents visited the Powai Police Station from Ahmedabad to file a complaint alleging that caste discrimination led to their son's death.

This request, however, was denied by the Powai police since the probe has been handed over to a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formated by the Maharashtra government.

Asking the Deputy CM to look into the matter, the APPSC email states, "Till now, the SIT based their investigation on the ADR filed by the police. The refusal of the SIT to base their investigation on FIR is a failure to recognize the rights of the family to register a complaint in respect of cognizable offense as provided under the law.

We fear this angle of investigation will reiterate IIT Bombay's Interim Report where they put blame on Darshan's merit, ignoring possible atrocities that he might have endured."

In the first week of March, an investigation committee constituted by IIT-B released an interim probe report suggesting that academic pressures were the primary reason behind Darshan's suicide. Several student groups, alumni, and even certain professors publicly rubbished these reports.

The IIT-B committee was formed after 18-year-old Darshan Solanki jumped to death from his hostel building on February 12, 2023. Following his unfortunate demise, student groups like APPSC alleged that Darshan was forced to take his own life due to rampant casteism on the IIT campus.