Written by Jennifer Nadar
Mumbai | Updated: March 6, 2023, 14:40 IST

The inquiry committee in its interim report said that except for Solanki's sister none of those deposed before the panel had any idea or evidence of Solanki facing discrimination on caste grounds.

Stating that there is no “specific evidence of direct caste-based discrimination” faced by Darshan Solanki, IIT-Bombay‘s internal inquiry alludes to his “deteriorating academic performance” as a possible cause behind his suicide.

Solanki, a first-year chemical engineering student from Ahmedabad, died by suicide on February 12, a day after his semester exams concluded. He allegedly jumped from the refuge area on the seventh floor of Hostel 16 where he was living. His family alleged that Darshan was subjected to caste-based discrimination on campus which drove him to suicide.

IIT Bombay had constituted a 12-member committee to investigate the circumstances leading to the death. The committee submitted its interim report on March 2, Debo Times has learned, a copy of which has also been shared with the union government. Professor Nand Kishore of the Chemistry department is the convenor of the panel.

The inquiry committee, Debo Times has learned, has said in its report that only one person, Solanki’s sister, had mentioned that her brother had mentioned “caste-related issues faced by some students at IIT Bombay and that he had also faced it himself.” The report further goes on to state that members of the Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle and Ambedkarite Students Collective also deposed before the committee and highlighted instances of caste discrimination on campus but “none of them had ever met DS or “directly knew if DS was facing any kind of problem individually.”

“Therefore, other than the statement of DS’s sister, there is no specific evidence of direct caste-based discrimination faced by DS during his stay at IIT Bombay,” the interim report states.

While the committee has ruled out caste discrimination as a cause, it has detailed Solanki’s academic performance in the report. The report states that except for one Solanki’s performance in all subjects was “very poor” and that his performance “deteriorated specifically in the second half of the Autumn semester.”

“It also appears that DS (Darshan Solanki) had difficulties in understanding lectures which might have affected him seriously and he started skipping classes.. therefore, the despair of deteriorating academic performance appears to be a powerful reason which might have affected DS very seriously,” the interim report states.