IIT student's death: Abetment to suicide case registered against unidentified person
Mumbai, Mar 30: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of police probing IIT Bombay student Darshan Solanki's death on Thursday registered an offence against an unknown person for alleged abetment to suicide, an official said.
The case was registered 47 days after Solanki allegedly ended his life by jumping off a building on the IIT Bombay campus in Powai on February 12.
SIT officials on Thursday night visited Powai Police Station along with Darshan's father Ramesh Solanki, and based on his complaint, the FIR was registered, the police official said.
The complaint had been submitted to Powai Police on March 16, the official added.
"We have registered an offence against unidentified person under section 306 of IPC (Abetment of suicide) and relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act," he said.
On Wednesday, Ramesh Solanki had written a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and Mumbai police commissioner Vivek Phansalkar, and accused SIT officials of harassing his family over the registration of FIR.
The letter said the family was "completely shocked and disheartened" by the attitude of the police and the members of the SIT who had been "refusing" to register an FIR.
Darshan Solanki, who hailed from Ahmedabad and was a first-year student of the B Tech (Chemical) course, allegedly committed suicide by jumping off the seventh floor of a hostel building located on the campus on February 12 this year.
His family has claimed he faced discrimination at IITB for belonging to a Scheduled Caste community, and also suspected foul play.
However, an inquiry committee set up by the institute ruled out caste-based discrimination and hinted at deteriorating academic performance as a possible cause of suicide.
In his letter, Darshan's father Ramesh Solanki said, "This is to inform you that I along with my family had travelled from Ahmedabad to visit the Powai police station for registration of FIR on the basis of my complaint dated March 16 in the case of my son's death.
However, in spite of our requests the Powai police station refused to register the FIR stating that since the SIT has been constituted to investigate the case, they cannot register the FIR and they will forward the complaint to the SIT for necessary action."
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Shocked by PM’s remarks on Shakti scheme causing loss to metro: Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday said that he is "shocked" by the reported statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the "Shakthi scheme had resulted in loss of revenue for the Bengaluru metro".
Under the 'Shakti' scheme implemented by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, women can avail free travel in state-run buses.
Hitting out at Modi, the state deputy chief minister said that the prime minister lacks information on the Shakthi scheme and hence he has said that it has impacted revenues of the Bengaluru metro.
"Namma metro has earned a revenue of Rs 130 crore in the last one year. Footfalls too have gone up by 30 per cent for the same period. Bengaluru metro is limited to Bengaluru, while the Shakthi scheme is rolled out, keeping in mind people from across the state," he told reporters here.
The Shakthi scheme is rolled out by the Congress to ease the burden of price rise and inflation on women, Shivakumar said.
"Metro is a joint initiative between the State and the Centre and it has done well over the last one year. Someone seems to have provided incorrect information to the prime minister," he added.
"I would like to convey to the PM that the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) and Bengaluru metro are being run efficiently while offering the Shakthi scheme to women. Women are taking 60 lakh trips per day in Karnataka. They are very happy with the Shakthi scheme. Many other states are expressing interest in Shakthi scheme," he said.
PM Modi has reportedly spoken in an interview on bus and the Metro rail services and whether or not he made a specific reference to Karnataka is not known.
When asked if there was a shortage of buses in North Karnataka, Shivakumar said, "We have already taken a decision to buy 1,000 new buses. Of these, 100 buses have been allocated to Ramanagara district. Buses will be allocated to North Karnataka as well.
"We are not looking at making profits from KSRTC. We are only ensuring it doesn’t make losses. The government is reimbursing the cost of tickets under the Shakthi scheme," he said.
