Mumbai, Mar 6: The inquiry committee set up by Indian Institute of Technology Bombay after the death of its student Darshan Solanki last month allegedly by suicide has ruled out caste-based discrimination and hinted at deteriorating academic performance as a possible cause.

Originally from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, 18-year-old Solanki, a first-year student of B.Tech (Chemical) course, died on February 12 after allegedly jumping off the seventh floor of his hostel on the campus in Powai.

His family had claimed he was facing discrimination since he belonged to a Scheduled Caste.

Authorities at the prestigious IITB had set up a 12-member inquiry committee under Professor Nand Kishore, head of the chemistry department, in connection with the death and allegations surrounding the incident.

Late last month, the police had said the Maharashtra government had formed a special investigation team to conduct a probe into Solanki's death.

The incident hit national headlines, with students group in several cities of the country holding protests denouncing caste-based discrimination in educational institutions.

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New Delhi, Sep 24: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said 90 per cent of small investors have lost Rs 1.8 lakh crore in Futures and Option (F&O) trading in three years and asked the SEBI to reveal the names of the "so called big players" profiteering at their expense.

More than 91 per cent, or 73 lakh, individual traders lost money in the F&O segment in FY24 with an average net loss of Rs 1.2 lakh per person, a study conducted by markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) revealed on Monday.

Further, 93 per cent of over 1 crore individual F&O traders incurred average losses of about Rs 2 lakh per trader (inclusive of transaction costs) during the three years from FY22 to FY24. The aggregate losses of such traders exceeded Rs 1.8 lakh crore during the period.

Gandhi, who is the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said on X, "Uncontrolled F&O trading has grown 45X in 5 years. 90% of small investors have lost ₹1.8 lakh Cr in 3 years."

"SEBI must reveal the names of the so called 'Big Players' making a killing at their expense," the former Congress chief said.

The study said in FY24 alone, individuals incurred about Rs 75,000 crore in net losses.

It found the top 3.5 per cent of loss-makers -- about 4 lakh traders -- faced an average loss of Rs 28 lakh per person over the same period, inclusive of transaction costs.

On the other hand, only 7.2 per cent of individual F&O traders made a profit over the period of three years and only 1 per cent of individual traders managed to earn profits exceeding Rs 1 lakh, after adjusting for transaction costs.

Moreover, the number of retail traders, or individual traders, has almost doubled in two years to about 96 lakh in FY24 from about 51 lakh in FY22.

Although such investors contributed about 30 per cent to the total turnover in FY24, they are a clear majority in number terms, as 99.8 per cent of total traders in the equity F&O segment are individuals.

"The availability of sophisticated trading platforms and lower transaction costs have enabled retail investors to actively trade in options and futures contracts, contributing to the surge in market liquidity," SEBI said.

The regulator said rapid growth in F&O trading activity has highlighted the need for investor education and risk management practices, as a significant proportion of retail traders continued to incur losses in the market.