5 min readMumbaiJun 8, 2023 03:50 PM IST
First published on: Jun 4, 2023 at 08:55 PM IST
The statements — by IIT Bombay student Darshan Solanki’s parents and sister, fellow students, professors and assistant professors — help piece together the criminal case, Darshan’s life on campus, the challenges he faced as a member of a Scheduled Caste community and his last few days, during which he allegedly got into a tiff with a fellow student.
The police have claimed in the chargesheet that it was a series of incidents — which started in the beginning of February — between fellow student Arman Khatri and Darshan that led the latter to jump from the refuge floor of the students’ hostel on February 12. Read The Indian Express report here
Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the case, has decided to slap sections of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act on his batchmate Khatri.
Read Mohamed Thaver and Sadaf Modak’s report on the SIT chargesheet
Following are the other important updates from Mumbai in the past week (May 29 – June 4):
Rise in cases of child abuse
In the first quarter of this year (till April), the Mumbai police have recorded nearly 400 cases of rape, sexual assault and molestation of minors against 371, 355 and 349 cases during the corresponding period of 2022, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The shocking part? In the majority of cases, the offenders are known to the victims. Read Vijay Kumar Yadav’s report
Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat launch cancelled following Odisha train accident
The scheduled launch of the Mumbai-Goa Vande Bharat Express on June 3 was cancelled after an accident involcing two trains in Odisha’s Balasore district claimed 288 lives. While the revised date of launch is yet to be announced, take a look at the features of the longest Vande Bharat route here
On the political front
➡️ BJP – The party saw the Munde sisters – Pankaja and Pritam – deviating from the party stand. While Pritam became the first BJP MP to support the wrestlers protesting against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, Pankaja expressed her displeasure over the party saying it “doesn’t belong to me”.
➡️ Shiv Sena (UBT) – Party MP Vinayak Raut claimed there is unrest in the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the party’s 22 MLAs and nine Lok Sabha MPs are upset with the BJP.
➡️ NCP – As Sharad Pawar’s consecutive meetings with Shinde and industrialist Gautam Adani raised eyebrows, party leader Ajit Pawar said such meetings are necessary to solve issues concerning people.
➡️ Congress – The party said results of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections will not be the basis for seat-sharing of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for the 2024 general elections. The state unit of the party will begin the state-wide tour from June 10 to gauge the ground reality and public mood.
Another victim of man who framed Chrisann Pereira convicted in Sharjah
In a setback to Clayton Rodrigues (37), the Mumbai-based DJ lodged in Sharjah prison after being allegedly framed in a drugs case by Anthony Paul, a court in Sharjah convicted him last week for carrying narcotics. Paul had also got actor Chrisann Pereira nabbed in a drugs case in Sharjah. What’s the progress in the Chrisann Pereira case?
Other important news this week:
- Bombay HC adjourns Chhota Rajan’s plea against Netflix series ‘Scoop’ to June 7
- One arm of Delisle Bridge opens, to ease east-west commute
- Mitigating climate change, flooding among BMC’s priorities: officials
- Mumbai Coastal Road Project: BMC completes boring work for second underground tunnel
- 600 BEST bus stops in Mumbai to get swanky look
- Mumbai library reopens doors to public after 16 months
- MMRDA explores alternate location for Mumbai Eye project
- ‘Malicious content’, NCP’s outrage, now an FIR: The Savitribai Phule controversy in Maharashtra
- Kiran Landge becomes 10th Sena UBT ex-corporator to join Shinde’s party
- Akash and Shloka Ambani welcome second child
- Doctors at Mumbai’s JJ Hospital call off indefinite strike against ‘harassment’, ‘dictatorship’
Photo of the week
In the hot and dry wetlands of Navi Mumbai, mixed groups of Indian Plovers align themselves and actively forage for food in the afternoon. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
News to watch out for next week:
- NCP foundation day celebrations on June 10; show of strength in Ahmednagar district by the party
- The Bombay High Court to hear plea by former NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede against CBI’s cruise drug bust bribery case by CBI
News from Mumbai: May 22-28
News from Mumbai: May 15-21
News from Mumbai: May 1-7
Darshan Solanki died by suicide on February 12, a day after his semester exams got over. (Twitter/@ambedkariteIND) 
In the hot and dry wetlands of Navi Mumbai, mixed groups of Indian Plovers align themselves and actively forage for food in the afternoon. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)
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