A special court of Mumbai extended the police remand of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay student Arman Khatri, who has been accused of abetting the suicide of his hostel mate Darshan Solanki, till April 15.

Solanki was from a Dalit family from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and was a first-year student of the BTech (Chemical) course. He allegedly died by suicide on the IIT Bombay campus, Powai on February 12 this year.

What is the policy saying?
The police told the Special Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) court that Khatri had threatened Solanki with a paper cutter after the latter allegedly abused his caste and religion while seeking remand. 

Further, the prosecution said that Solanki took the drastic step because of Khatri’s threats and harassment, and the statements of other students must be recorded to corroborate this. The prosecution also mentioned that the forensic report of Khatri’s phone is being awaited. 

Special Judge AP Kanade, allowing the police's plea for an extension of Khatri's remand said, "In my view, for further investigation the presence of the accused with the police is justified."

Khatri, who lived on the same floor as Solanki in the IIT Bombay hostel, was arrested earlier this month after the Mumbai Police SIT recovered the latter’s alleged suicide note, which named him as the cause of his death.