IIT-B student death: Handwriting analysis confirms suicide note by Darshan Solanki

Mumbai police's SIT, which is probing the death of IIT Bombay student Darshan Solanki, has received a report from a handwriting expert, which says the handwriting in the purported suicide note recovered from the institute' hostel matched the writing samples of the deceased, confirming that it was written by him, an official said.

Solanki, who hailed from Ahmedabad in Gujarat and was a first-year student of the B Tech (Chemical) course, allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the seventh floor of a hostel building located on the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) campus in suburban Powai on February 12 this year.

Maharashtra government has formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe his death. His family has claimed that he faced discrimination at the premier institute for belonging to a Scheduled Caste (SC) community and suspected foul play in his death. However, the inquiry committee set up by the IITB has ruled out caste-based discrimination and hinted at deteriorating academic performance as a possible cause of suicide.

The suicide note recovered by the SIT on March 3, mentioned the name of Solanki's hostel mate and blamed him for the death," he said.