After IIT Bombay student's ‘suicide’, group alleges ‘caste discrimination'

A day after an 18-year-old student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, located in Powai area, allegedly died by suicide by jumping off the seventh floor of a hostel building located on the campus, a student group alleged that he was driven to take the extreme step due to discrimination against Scheduled Caste students on the campus.

The Powai Police said the deceased was a first-year student of chemical engineering and had joined the institute three months ago. A native of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, he was staying with a roommate on the eighth floor of the Hostel 16/B on the campus. “The student jumped from the refuge area of the eighth floor at around 1pm on Sunday. He was rushed to the hospital on the campus, where he was declared dead before admission,” said an officer with the Powai police station.

A police team conducted inquiries on the campus and found some eyewitnesses who had seen him jump. The police have not found any suicide note and there are no indications of foul play so far.

However, the APPSC (Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle) IIT Bombay alleged that “this is not a personal/individualised issue, but an institutional murder”.

“We mourn the loss of an 18 year old dalit student, Darshan Solanki, who joined @iitbombay 3 months back for his BTech. We must understand that this is not a personal/individualised issue, but an institutional murder,” it tweeted.

"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 added.

On Instagram, the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC.IITB) alleged that it is "no hidden fact that students from the SC/ST community face immense harassment and discrimination on the campus from students, faculties and employees".

The post also mentioned the "general atmosphere in IIT Bombay campus, where reservations are equated with lack of merit".

Meanwhile, the institute held a condolence meeting near the main administrative building of the campus on Monday. Several students, faculty members, and representatives of the administration attended the meeting held in memory of the first-year student.

In Rajasthan, a 25-year-old youth allegedly committed suicide by jumping in front of a train near Dhankya railway station on Monday.

Amarjeet Singh Koli, a resident of Alwar, was preparing for a competitive examination in Jaipur, Government Railway Police (GRP) Station Officer Sampat Singh said.

After the postmortem, the body was handed over to the relatives, Singh said. A case has been registered under section 174 of CrPC and investigation is being done, he added.