Parents junk IIT-B's probe report on Darshan Solanki suicide
Dalit student Darshan Solanki's parents rejected the interim report of an internal probe panel saying the institution cannot be the judge in its own case.
Published: 25th March 2023 08:03 PM | Last Updated: 25th March 2023 08:03 PM | A+A A-
In a recent incident, activists protest demanding justice for Indra Meghwal, a Dalit boy from Rajasthan who allegedly died after he was beaten up by his teacher. (File Photo | PTI)
MUMBAI: The parents of Darshan Solanki -- who ended his life at the IIT-B last month -- have rejected an interim report of an internal probe committee, saying the institution cannot be the judge in its own case, here on Saturday.
In a 3-pager addressed to the IIT-B Director Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri on Friday, Ramesh Solanki, father of Darshan, has rejected outright the report prepared by a 12-member panel headed by Prof. Nand Kishor, terming it as "false and inhuman".
The committee, appointed soon after the 18-year-old Dalit student, Darshan's body was found on February 12 near his hostel building on the IIT-B Powai Campus, had ruled out any 'caste discrimination' and contended that his academic performance in different subjects had declined in the second half of the autumn semester.
Ramesh Solanki, who hails from Ahmedabad, said that the committee doesn't have any members outside of IIT-B, it is biased and was constituted to save the face of the institution rather than bringing out the truth in his son's death case.
Furthermore, he said that the statements of the Solanki family have not been taken in writing and the interim report has been prepared as per its convenience, thus leading to denial of the principle of natural justice, and hence sought that the case should be handed over to some other state or central agency.
Last week, Ramesh Solanki had met the Mumbai Police top brass seeking that an FIR be registered in Darshan Solanki's case, but it was done as a Special Investigation Team is already probing the matter independently.
Subsequently on March 21, at least students' associations - Ambedkar Phule Periyar Circle-IITB, Ambedkarite Students Collective-IITB and Concerned Alumni of IITB sent a letter to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, requesting him to direct Mumbai Police to lodge an FIR based on Ramesh Solanki's plea.
