Mumbai, March 21 : At least three IIT-Bombay students’ associations have written to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, urging him to direct the Mumbai Police and the SIT to accept a complaint by the parents of Darshan Solanki, a Dalit student who ended his life on the campus last month.
The Ambedkar Phule Periyar Study Circle-IITB, the Ambedkarite Students Collective-IITB and Concerned Alumni of IIT-B have sent a letter to Fadnavis, over a month after Solanki (18) reportedly jumped to death from the seventh floor of his hostel on February 12.
Solanki’s parents arrived here last week from Ahmedabad to register a complaint, but the Powai police declined it ostensibly on grounds that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up for the purpose is already probing the case.
Darshan’s father Ramesh Solanki is a plumber, his mother Tarlika is a domestic help, while his sister Jahnavi is studying for her MCA. They have questioned the circumstances leading to Darshan’s death, and rejected outright the interim internal probe panel report of the IIT-B which came out recently.
“Darshan’s parents wanted to lodge an FIR on March 16 and came all the way from Ahmedabad for the purpose. Despite multiple pleas from the parents and accompanying lawyers, the FIR has not been lodged yet,” the students’ associations informed Fadnavis.
They also pointed out that as per the Supreme Court, the police stations can register an FIR regardless of an SIT probe, and the desperate Solanki couple got no succour even after meeting the Mumbai Police top brass later.
“Till now, the SIT based its investigation on the ADR filed by the police. The refusal of SIT to base their investigation on an FIR is a failure to recognise the rights of the family to register a complaint in respect of cognisable offence as provided under the law,” read the letter.
