Family holds protest, seeks bill against ‘caste bias’ on campuses

At the protest, Darshan’s father Rameshbhai Solanki said, “We could not see Darshan the day he died because we were told that the mortuary was closed. The postmortem was going to be conducted post our approval. But when we reached the hospital, it was already over. We were told not to touch the body. If my son has fallen from as high as the seventh floor, why did he have only one injury on the head?”

“He spoke to me over the phone around 12.30 pm on February 12, making vacation plans. The train ticket was booked for him to come home. At 2.30 pm, I received a call from the institute informing me about his accident,” he added.
“When we visited the accident spot at IIT, every person present there had a different version on what could have happened. A fellow student apparently saw Darshan and asked him to stop. Unfortunately, we have not had a chance to freely speak with any of his classmates or hostelmates as the IIT administration representatives were present during our interactions,” Rameshbhai said, adding that they are not wrong in suspecting foul play and demands an impartial probe.

Along with Rameshbhai, Darshan’s mother Tarlikaben, sister Janhavi and 23 relatives were present at the Azad Maidan.

Mungekar said, “Due to our demand, on the direction of the Union Government, the Maharashtra government has formed a SIT (special investigation team) to investigate the alleged suicide. We have met the SIT members and explained our views.”

Parents of Aniket Ambhore, an BTech student from IIT Bombay who died by suicide in 2014, also attended the protest. Addressing the gathering, Aniket’s father Sanjay Ambhore said, “I know the internal committee report by IIT Bombay will only say that Darshan was unable to cope with the pressure of studies. The administration will never accept that there is caste-based discrimination on campus.”

Various organisations, including the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle from IIT Bombay, attended the agitation.