The family of an IIT-Bombay student who died allegedly by suicide has claimed that he faced discrimination at the premier institute for belonging to a Scheduled Caste community and that there is a strong possibility that he was "murdered'.
The Powai-based institute in Mumbai has rejected allegations of bias and has urged students to wait till the police and internal probes are over.
Darshan Solanki (18) died allegedly after jumping off the seventh floor of a hostel building on the Powai campus of the IIT on Sunday.
Hailing from Ahmedabad, he was a first-year student of B.Tech (Chemical) course.
His family members, who live in the Maninagar area of Ahmedabad city, claimed that though Darshan faced "discrimination for being a Dalit', he could not have taken his own life.
"I strongly believe that my son was murdered. Hours before his death, he had called us but he talked normally and gave no indication that he was under any tension. However, when he came home during Makar Sankranti, he informed his aunt that other students were keeping their distance from him. They were upset because Darshan made such progress," said his mother Tarlikaben Solanki.
Darshan's father Rameshbhai alleged that the institute as well as hospital authorities had tried to cover up the matter and performed a post-mortem even before he reached Mumbai. -- PTI