Trial set to begin in IIT-Bombay student suicide case after accused withdraws plea
The development came during a hearing before a Bombay High Court bench of justice Ajay Gadkari and justice Rajesh Patil last Friday. Khatri's petition—filed in May 2023—was strongly opposed by both the Maharashtra government and Solanki's family. Following their arguments, Khatri chose to withdraw the plea, which the court permitted.
Solanki, a first-year Dalit student of chemical engineering at IIT-Bombay, died by suicide on February 12, 2023, on the campus. His death triggered widespread protests and demands for an investigation into caste-based discrimination within elite educational institutions.
Three weeks after the incident, Mumbai police recovered a one-line note from Solanki's room stating, 'Arman has killed me.' Based on this and other evidence, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by the joint commissioner of crime arrested Khatri on April 9, 2023. He was booked under charges of abetment to suicide and sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and later granted bail.
According to the SIT's findings, Solanki and Khatri had a heated exchange two days before the suicide, during which Solanki allegedly made a communal remark. Khatri, in response, reportedly threatened him with a paper cutter. Police claim the incident left Solanki deeply disturbed. That same night, he developed a fever and, in the following hours, sent Khatri apologetic WhatsApp messages, saying he intended to return home.
'The court noted that since the matter had already moved to the trial stage, the FIR could not be quashed at this point. As a result, the petition had become infructuous, and Khatri opted to withdraw it,' said Hitendra Gandi, counsel for Solanki's father.
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