'Suicide Note' Found At IIT-Bombay Student's Room, Indicates ¡®Caste-Based Harassment¡¯ On Campus
The 18-year-old student, a resident of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, had died after jumping off the seventh floor of the hostel building on February 12.
More than a month after an IIT Bombay student, Darshan Solanki, allegedly died by suicide, the special investigation team (SIT) of Mumbai Police, during its probe, has revealed that they have recovered a note that mentions harassment by a hostel mate.
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As per media reports, the 'suicide note' found in a first-year student¡¯s hostel room suggests that Solanki may have faced caste-based harassment on campus.
The 18-year-old student, a resident of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, had died after jumping off the seventh floor of the hostel building on February 12.
Mother confirms handwriting is of deceased
¡°We were searching his room and a note was found in his room that says X person has killed me,¡± an officer involved with the investigation told ThePrint.
Upon the recovery of the note, Solanki¡¯s parents were reportedly asked by the police to come in and confirm whether the handwriting therein matched to that of Darshan, which his mother eventually did.
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"We have sent the paper to handwriting experts as well, but his mother is saying that the writing is Darshan's," said the officer.
Solanki had told sister about discrimination
Solanki, a first-year B.Tech Student, died a day after his semester exams ended.
Initially, it was thought that he had jumped off the seventh floor because of low-grade. Still, his family and Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle fellows at IIT Bombay had claimed that Darshan was facing caste-based discrimination on campus and had spoken to his sister about the same.
IIT-Bombay had denied any discrimination
Even though IIT-Bombay maintained that there was no caste-based discrimination, the resistance by Solanki's family and the IIT Bombay group had prompted the state government to form an SIT, presided by Lakhmi Gautam, joint commissioner of police, Mumbai Crime Branch, to examine the case.
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Solanki's parents had pressed that the death be scrutinised as a murder.
The family was with the police Monday, and the officer said that it was expected that by Tuesday, an FIR will be filed against the person named in the suicide note, after which "we can interrogate the named person".
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Kumar Debvrat is a copyeditor at Indiatimes. He writes about trending topics in India, from human-interest stories to cricket. He has a sharp eye for detail and a passion for storytelling.
