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‘Solanki and Khatri were close friends,’ claim IIT Bombay batchmates as Mumbai Police arrests student in suicide case

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Darshan’s father says a single boy cannot be the only reason behind his son’s demise.

Nearly two months after Darshan Solanki, a Dalit student of the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay allegedly died by suicide, the Mumbai Police has arrested a fellow student identified as Armaan Iqbal Khatri on charges of abetment to suicide.

Arman Iqbal Khatri, an 18-year-old boy from Vile Parle, was named in the suicide note SIT had found inside the hostel room of the deceased student on March 26. In the suicide note, Darshan blamed Khatri for driving him to his death.

Though the probe is still on, IIT-B students who knew Arman recognise the latter as incapable of a crime.

According to some of Armaan’s batch mates, Arman and Darshan had become good friends, though Arman generally was a quiet student.“They both were close and Armaan knew that Darshan was going through depression due to his low grades,  in fact, Darshan took the drastic step, Arman was most affected,” said a friend of Aarman who did not wish to be named.

Darshan’s father Mr Ramesh Solanki had spoken to the mumbaipress earlier that SIT’s claim about Darshan having fought with Arman for three days, on 9, 10, and 11 February after which  Darshan met an unfortunate demise on February 12 cannot be the sole reason for the tragedy. “We have not been told anything about the reason behind this fight, but the SIT stated that Armaan threatened Darshan with a cutter in the hostel room. I believe that a single boy cannot be the only reason behind Darshan’s demise. This goes much deeper,” Mr. Ramesh told this newspaper today.

However, the claim about the knife is not entirely true, said the friends. “Apart from having silly fights common between friends, it never got serious and Aarman never pointed a knife at him.”

On February 12, 2023, Darshan was reported to have jumped from the seventh floor of his hostel building at IIT-B and his body was found by the security guards who saw him in a pool of blood. Darshan from Ahmedabadwas a first-year student of the B.Tech course.

Initially, after the incident, the Powai police station registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR). However, after the suicide note was found, a new direction was given to the investigation.

The Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle (APPSC) of IIT-Bombay was the first to raise the issue of Darshan’s death as a case of caste discrimination and called it “institutional murder” – a charge which was denied by the institute.

Crime

‘Will take her back to Odisha after she records statement’: Durgapur gang-rape victim’s father

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Kolkata, Oct 13: The father of the second-year medical student said on Monday that he will take the victim back to Odisha once she records her statement before a judicial magistrate.

The father of the victim also met the West Bengal Leader of the Opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, on Monday afternoon.

Adhikari told the victim’s father that he would arrange the transport facility for the victim. A video of the conversation between the two was also shared on Adhikari’s official Facebook account.

In the video, Adhikari first inquired about the physical condition of the victim. The father said that his daughter was more stable than before. Then the BJP leader advised him that if there was a need for better treatment, then the victim should be taken to Odisha. The father responded by saying that he plans to take the victim to Odisha once she records her statement before a judicial magistrate under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Adhikari told him that he would talk to the Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and other BJP leaders and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to ensure that all necessary arrangements are made in Odisha.

The BJP leader further asked the victim’s father whether West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had called him.

In response, the victim’s father said, “We spoke to the Chief Minister of Odisha. But there was no talk with the Chief Minister of West Bengal.”

Meanwhile, Governor C.V. Ananda Bose expressed concern over the Durgapur incident. On Monday, he left Howrah station for Durgapur in a car.

At the station, he said, “I have taken stock of the entire incident. I am going to talk to the victim. Strict action will be taken against those who did this.”

On Friday, the second-year medical student from Odisha was allegedly gang-raped outside the campus in Durgapur after she went out with her male friend for dinner.

The police have arrested all five accused in the Durgapur gang-rape case.

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Crime

Mumbai: Terrorist Angle Rules Out In Navy Nagar Rifle Theft Case; Police Say ‘Brothers Stole Weapon For…’

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The Mumbai Crime Branch has ruled out any Maoist or terrorist links from the case pertaining to an Agniveer and his brother involved in the stealing of an INSAS rifle, 40 live cartridges, two loaded magazines from Colaba’s Navy Nagar.

The incident took place last month, where both brothers were arrested within 48 hours of the theft from Asifabad in Telangana, a region which is known for its Naxal activity.

The brothers stole the weapon for their own protection as their is Maoist scare in their village. Speaking of the investigation, a senior officer TOI, “They said since Rakesh had only a four-year service tenure, they wanted to keep the weapon for their own protection as their village in Telangana’s Kumuram Bheed Asifabad is Maoist-affected. The officer also added that Rakesh’s brother Umesh wanted to indulge in extortion activities using the weapon.

A chargesheet will be filed for the two brothers for the theft while the sources revealed that currently Alok Singh who handed the rifle to Rakesh has not been given any important duty and is at a detention center.

The report added that police suspect that Umesh, who runs a ration shop in Telangana’s Adilabad district, reportedly instigated his brother to commit the theft. Moreover, the police stated that they believe Umesh has connections to local Maoist through an illegal liquor trade.

On September 6, Rakesh allegedly entered Navy Nagar impersonating a Quick Reaction Team (QRT) member. He then approached Alok Singh, a 20-year-old jawan on radar protection duty at AP Towers, and convinced him that he was sent to relieve him. He convinced him to hand over his rifle along with two loaded magazines.

Rakesh then threw the stolen weapon and magazines over a wall to Umesh, after which the two fled to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus and boarded a train to Telangana.

Later the same day, Alok returned to the radar post around 7 pm to collect his wristwatch, find that the unidentified man had vanished with the rifle and ammunition.

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Crime

Mumbai Police File FIR Against Agent Who Issued Fraudulent Dubai Job Offer To Retired Navy Chief Petty Officer Rakesh Kumar Yadav

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Mumbai: The Sahar police have registered an FIR against manpower agent Vinayak Koli for allegedly providing a fake appointment letter to a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer, Rakesh Kumar Yadav, 56, in an attempt to send him to Dubai.

Yadav, who retired in 2008 and previously worked as a seaman, had connected with Koli in 2021 while they were both working for the same company in Nigeria. In August 2025, while seeking a new job, Yadav responded to a WhatsApp job advertisement for an Electro Technical Officer. He discovered one of the contact numbers belonged to Koli, who then assured Yadav of an overseas position with Prayati Shipping Company.

Koli collected Yadav’s documents and, on October 9, provided him with an offer letter, an invitation, and a flight ticket from Mumbai to Dubai for the following day. However, on October 10, when Yadav presented the documents at Mumbai International Airport, immigration officers grew suspicious. An inquiry confirmed the offer letter was fraudulent.

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