IIT Powai main gate.
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini
Nearly 50 days after the death by suicide of 18-year-old Darshan Solanki, a first-year Dalit student at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, the Mumbai Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) for abetment to suicide against an unknown person.
The police also invoked relevant Sections of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
After the death of Solanki inside the campus on February 12, SC/ST/OBC students from various IITs across the country had come out with the kinds of caste-based discrimination they faced on campuses.
Shortly after, Today News 24 had reported that internal surveys conducted by IIT-B’s SC/ST Cell had revealed widespread caste discrimination faced by students.
However, by March 2, a 12-member internal panel formed by the institute had ruled that there was no “specific evidence” of caste discrimination faced by Solanki, despite recording depositions of his family and a senior student who submitted otherwise.
IIT-B Dalit student’s death | Police find ‘suicide note’, says FIR being registered in case
Now, days after the investigators said they had found a note purportedly written by Solanki, blaming his classmate for his extreme step, the Powai police station has registered a case in the matter based on the complaint lodged by the victim’s father Rameshbhai Solanki on March 16.
Father’s charge
In the complaint, Rameshbhai had said that his son’s death under the circumstances was because of the caste-based discrimination he was facing on campus, adding that the IIT-B administration was responsible for enabling this culture of discrimination. Accordingly, Rameshbhai had sought that an FIR be registered under Section 302 (murder) as well.
A police officer told Today News 24, “The FIR has been registered for abetment to suicide and under relevant Sections of the SC/ST Act at the Powai police station. It will be taken over by the SIT constituted by the State government in connection with the case.”
Also read | IIT-Bombay Dalit student death | Senior says Darshan Solanki felt alienated by roommate
Even though the police had said that the note purportedly left behind by the victim had named one of his classmates, the FIR has been registered against unknown persons.
A day before the FIR was registered, Rameshbhai had written to the Maharashtra Chief Minister, the Home Minister and the Mumbai Police Commissioner, insisting that the same be registered based on his March 16 complaint, alleging that the police were not willing to do so.
After the case was registered, Rameshbhai issued a statement, saying that the FIR had finally been registered after a lot of struggle and effort. “We have been continuously saying since the death of Darshan that there is caste discrimination against him, Darshan’s senior had already given a statement to the police that there was caste discrimination against Darshan and he also wanted to change the room,” he said.
Rameshbhai added that the case had been registered under Section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST Act and Section 306 of the IPC but that the family had insisted on adding Section 302 of IPC (murder) and Section 3(2)(va) of the SC/ST Act. He said that the police, however, had refused to add these Sections to the FIR.
Section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST Act outlines life-imprisonment as punishment for anyone who commits an offence against an SC/ST person under the IPC (with punishment of 10 years or more jail). Section 3(2)(va) specifies the punishment for offences committed against such persons under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
“I hope that there will be a fair investigation in the matter and Darshan and we will get justice,” Rameshbhai said.
