IIT student dies by suicide, student body allege caste discrimination

In a shocking incident, a student of Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-Bombay) was found dead at the hostel building complex of the campus at Powai in Mumbai on Sunday afternoon in what appears to be a case of suicide.

However, student body Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC) of IIT-Bombay said it was a case of caste discrimination in a statement posted on Twitter.

Darshan Solanki, 18, reportedly jumped from the seventh floor; security guards found him in a pool of blood. Solanki hailed from Ahmedabad and was a first-year student in the B.Tech (Chemical) course.

No suicide note has been found and the Powai police station has registered an accidental death report (ADR) and are conducting investigations.

IIT Bombay, in a statement condoled the death of the student and announced a probe. "It is a great loss to the family and to the IIT-Bombay community. We pray that his family gets the strength to bear this loss. The Institute is with his family at this difficult time. We deeply mourn the tragic loss of Darshan’s life. It is unfortunate that such a loss could not be prevented despite the efforts of the institute and student mentors to support our students. IIT-Bombay has constituted a committee to investigate the incident,” the premier institute said in a statement.

"While we cannot change what has already happened, we will further increase our efforts to prevent such events in future," it said.

Meanwhile, IIT-Bombay Director Subhasis Chaudhuri, in a mail, to his colleagues and students, said, “We regret to inform you of the loss of a first-year student in a tragic incident this afternoon. Powai police are investigating the case. The parents of the student have been informed and they are on their way. We deeply mourn the death of the student and pray that the family gets the strength to bear this loss. May his soul rest in peace.”

The APPSC-IIT-Bombay said, “We have been raising the issue of lack of caste-sensitive counsellors in the counselling services of IIT-Bombay for a long time. The idea of merit is weaponised to harass the students coming to IITs. We owe a collective responsibility towards the family of the deceased. As a society, as an institution, what do we celebrate and what do we marginalise?”

The APPSC-IIT-Bombay said that Solanki had joined the course three months ago. “We must understand that this is not a personal/individualised issue, but an institutional murder. Despite our complaints, the institute did not care to make the space inclusive and safe for Dalit Bahujan Adivasi students. First-year students face the most harassment in terms of anti-reservation sentiments and taunts of non-deserving and non-meritorious. There is a lack of representation of faculty and counsellors from the marginalized,” it alleged.