IIT Bombay student suicide case: Maharashtra government formed SIT to probe the death

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed by the Maharashtra government to probe into the death of a BTech first-year student. The SIT team will be headed by a senior police officer to conduct the probe into the alleged suicide of an 18-year-old student of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT B), informed a police officer on Tuesday, February 28. 

The student was identified as Darshan Solanki from Ahmedabad, Gujarat who allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the seventh floor of a hostel building located on the campus on February 12. His family had claimed that he faced discrimination at IITB for belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) community and hence, they suspected foul play in his death.

Further, Gujarat Congress MLA and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani had demanded a probe by the SIT into Solanki's death, terming the episode as "suspicious". Later on February 24, the government ordered a probe into Solanki's death, the official said, as stated in a report by PTI. 

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Giving more details, he said, the SIT, headed by Joint Commissioner of Police (crime) Lakhmi Gautam, will revisit the case and record the statements of Solanki's parents, officials of the institute and students who were witnesses to the incident. It will also conduct a probe into the allegations made by various student groups that Solanki faced caste discrimination, he added. 

Following the death of Solanki, the Powai police here had registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and recorded the statements of multiple people, including IITB students. "Now, the SIT will conduct a probe into the case," the official added. Also, a Mumbai Police team on February 16 visited Gujarat to record the statements of Solanki's parents.