The Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study (APPSC) cell of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), made new revelations in the Darshan Solanki student suicide case stating that he had told a senior that he was facing caste discrimination on campus, reported PTI.
Yesterday, February 14, the university released a statement refuting the claims of an 'institutional murder' and lack of inclusive space on campus after the suicide of Darshan Solanki, a Dalit student. The death sparked widespread outrage and has raised concerns about the mental health of students and the prevalence of caste-based discrimination on university campuses.
According to the PTI report, APPSC claims that Solanki had told Udaysingh Meena, a final-year student of the chemical engineering department at the time, about the discrimination he was facing. Meena reportedly stated that Solanki was facing caste discrimination and exam-related depression.
The APPSC has also demanded that the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act be invoked in the case and that the IIT should carry out an independent investigation through a panel with at least 50 per cent SC/ST representation.
A statement released by APPSC states, "Darshan confided in Uday that his roommate, mentors and wing-mates were from the general category and reduced talking to him after coming to know about his rank which is a marker for his category. The combined issue of academic pressure and caste discrimination, along with a lack of mental health and academic support might have pushed him to take such an extreme step".
IIT Bombay has denied the allegations and has urged students to wait for the police and internal probes to be over. The institute also stated that it takes utmost precautions to make the campus as inclusive as possible and has zero tolerance for any discrimination by faculty. While caste identity is never disclosed to anyone, including students and faculty, once the admission is done, and the institute sensitises students to not seek proxy information such as ranks in entrance exams, discrimination by students if at all it occurs, is an exception, the premier institute said.
A police official said, "A group of students has tweeted mentioning he (Solanki) was driven to take the extreme step due to discrimination against scheduled caste students on the campus...We will investigate the case from all possible angles...We will inquire with students too, but as of now an accidental death report has been registered."
