18-year-old Dalit student dies at IIT Bombay campus, students allege caste discrimination, suicide
Mumbai: An 18-year-old teenager studying at the Bombay campus of the IIT died after he jumped from the seventh floor of his hostel building at the institute’s campus in Powai here in the city. The incident reportedly took place on Sunday afternoon.
The police, however, have registered a case of accidental death adding that no suicide note was recovered. Investigations, though are on, with a student group alleging that he was driven to suicide due to discrimination against Scheduled Caste students on the campus.
The police said Darshan Solanki, a BTech student, was from Ahmedabad. He had enrolled for the course three months ago and his first semester exams concluded on Saturday.
The Powai police are trying to find out if the pressure of studies drove the student to take the extreme step.
In a note to students, Institute Director Subhasis Chaudhuri said: "We regret to inform the loss of a first-year student in a tragic incident this afternoon. Powai police is investigating the case. The parents of the student have been informed and they are on their way. We deeply mourn the death of the student and pray that the family gets the strength to bear this loss. May his soul rest in peace."
The APPSC (Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle) IIT Bombay, tweeted: "We mourn the loss of an 18-year old dalit student, Darshan Solanki, who joined @iitbombay 3 months back for his BTech. We must understand that this is not a personal/individualized issue, but an institutional murder".
"Despite our complaints, the institute did not care to make the space inclusive and safe for dalit bahujan adivasi students. First-year students face the most harassment in terms of anti-reservation sentiments and taunts of non-deserving and non-meritorious. There is a lack of representation of faculty and counsellors from the marginalized," another tweet read.
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Congress holds ‘Jai Hind Tiranga Yatra’ in Bengaluru in support of armed forces
Bengaluru (PTI): A large crowd gathered at KR Circle in Bengaluru on Friday as the ruling Congress in Karnataka organised the ‘Jai Hind Tiranga Yatra’ to express solidarity with the Indian armed forces that carried out Operation Sindoor to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack.
The Indian tricolour fluttered at the venue amid loud chants of ‘Jai Hind-Jai Bharat-Jai Tiranga’, ‘Bharat Zindabad’ (Long Live India), ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ (Victory to India), and ‘Our soldiers are our pride’.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his deputy D K Shivakumar, and several senior ministers participated in the march, which began at KR Circle and concluded at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Shivakumar said the event was organised to express solidarity with the soldiers guarding India’s borders.
The Congress state president appealed to the public to join the march wholeheartedly as a mark of respect for the defence forces.
Speaking to reporters later, Shivakumar said the Congress organised the ‘Jai Hind Tiranga Yatra’, and people from all walks of life—including students, government employees, and members of various organisations and institutions—were invited to take part.
"Soldiers are our national pride. We want to salute them. We stand in solidarity with them to convey that the entire country is behind them," he said, expressing happiness over the huge turnout despite the short notice.
