Union Minister Ramdas Athawale demands probe into death of IIT Bombay student and caste bias charge

Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale visited the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and demanded a thorough probe into the death of a first-year Dalit student and the allegations that he was facing caste discrimination.

The IIT Bombay on Tuesday rejected charges of caste bias in the institute and said initial inputs from the deceased’s friends suggested there was no discrimination, and urged students to wait till police and internal probes into the case are over.

Athawale said Solanki called his father on Sunday and informed him that except one paper, his other first semester exams went well. His father had assured him not to worry and told him he would visit Mumbai soon. However, half-an-hour later, Solanki jumped from his hostel and died, he said.

It is a very serious incident. In 2014, a Dalit student ended his life in a similar way. Six months back, another student outside IITB had died by suicide. I am also aware that two students from IIT Madras had also died by suicide. Such incidents are increasing and they should be probed properly, the minister said.

Darshan Solanki (18) died allegedly after jumping off the seventh floor of a hostel building on the Powai campus of the premier institute on Sunday. Solanki, who hailed from Ahmedabad, was a first-year student of the BTech (Chemical) course.