IIT-B condoles death of Dalit student, orders probe

Mumbai: The IIT-Bombay on Monday condoled the death by suicide of B.Tech. First Year Dalit student, Darshan Solanki, terming it as “a great loss to the family and to the IITB community.

In its first reaction, the IIT-B said: “It is unfortunate that such a loss could not be prevented despite the efforts of the Institute and Student Mentors to support our students. A committee has been constituted to investigate the incident.”

The IIT-B held a condolence meeting and observed two minutes of silence in memory of the departed soul, said a spokesperson.

In a shocking incident, Solanki, 18, jumped to his death from the 7th floor of his hostel building in the Powai Campus on Sunday afternoon, after his first semester exams for the Chemical Engineering course a day earlier.

According to certain reports, Solanki reportedly did not heed warning shouts from other co-students who noticed him just before he took the plunge to death.

“While we cannot change what has already happened, we will further increase our efforts to prevent such events in future. 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,” said the IIT-B.

Earlier on Monday, a student group, the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle-IITB had pointed fingers at the IIT-B for alleged discrimination prevalent on the Powai Campus against students from reserved categories, various lapses on the part of the management to address their distress, etc., and sought redressal.