Darshan Solanki died after jumping off the 7th floor of a hostel building on IIT Bombay campus last month.
Father of deceased IIT Bombay student writes to Maha CM, alleges harassment by police in lodging FIR
The father of Darshan Solanki, a first-year student of IIT Bombay who allegedly committed suicide on February 12 this year, has written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde alleging harassment by the police in the registration of an FIR into his son’s death.
The father of Darshan Solanki, a first-year student of IIT Bombay who allegedly committed suicide on February 12, wrote a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday, alleging harassment by the police in the registration of an FIR into his son’s death.
The family claimed that Darshan faced discrimination at the institute for belonging to a Scheduled Caste community and suspected foul play in his death.
According to an official, the letter also stated that the police and members of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) have been “refusing” to register the FIR for almost two weeks now, which has left the family “completely shocked and disheartened”. The said letter has also been addressed to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who handles the home portfolio, and Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar.
In his letter, Darshan’s father, Ramesh Solanki, mentioned that when he visited the Powai police station for registration of the FIR, the police station refused, stating that since the SIT had been constituted to investigate the case, they cannot register the FIR and will forward the complaint to the SIT for necessary action.
The family also alleged that the SIT did not cooperate with their demand for the registration of the FIR when they approached them on March 16.
The family has requested that an independent and fair investigation be carried out without any foul play, and that the investigation not be diverted from the angle of caste discrimination faced by Darshan. They have urged the Chief Minister to ensure that the FIR is registered on the basis of their complaint and justice is served to their son.
Recently, the SIT probing Solanki’s death said it has recovered a note that mentions the name of his hostel mate. The purported suicide note was recovered from Solanki’s hostel room a few days ago.