Hindu Dalit student who named Muslim batchmate in suicide note finally sees trial commence three years after his death at elite Mumbai institute

Case ID : 30a7db0 | Location : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India | Date of Incident : Wed, 15 April, 2026

Case ID : 30a7db0

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

15 April, 2026

Hindu Dalit student who named Muslim batchmate in suicide note finally sees trial commence three years after his death at elite Mumbai institute

Undecided cases

Case Summary

A Hindu Dalit student named Darshan Solanki, studying at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay [IIT-B], took his own life on 12 February 2023 by jumping from the seventh floor of his hostel building. A suicide note recovered from his room read that his batchmate Arman Iqbal had killed him. Three years after his death, a special court framed charges against Arman Iqbal for criminal intimidation and abetment of suicide, and the trial began. Darshan Solanki was an 18-year-old Hindu Dalit student from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, who had secured admission to IIT-B through the Joint Entrance Examination [JEE]. He lived on the same hostel floor as his batchmate Arman Iqbal Khatri. On 11 February 2023, the day before his death, Darshan confided in another student that he felt threatened by Arman, telling him not to be seen with him or Arman would harm him as well. The following morning, on 12 February 2023, Darshan jumped from the seventh floor of his hostel building and died. A suicide note was recovered from his room by investigators. Written in his own hand and confirmed as authentic by handwriting experts, it stated that Arman had killed him. During the investigation, the Special Investigation Team [SIT] of the Mumbai Police established that sustained harassment by Arman had driven Darshan to end his life. On 9 April 2023, the SIT arrested Arman Iqbal Khatri in connection with Darshan's suicide. He was booked under Indian Penal Code [IPC] sections 306 and 506(2) and relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes [Prevention of Atrocities] Act. Arman secured bail in May 2023 and continued his studies at IIT-B. In 2025, he moved the Bombay High Court seeking to quash all charges against him but subsequently withdrew the petition. On 15 April 2026, a special court framed charges against Arman Iqbal for criminal intimidation and abetment of suicide. The draft charge was submitted by Special Public Prosecutor Prakash Salsingikar on the basis of chargesheet evidence including witness statements and the suicide note. Arman pleaded not guilty and the trial formally commenced.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The primary category here is "Undecided category". This case involves the death of Darshan Solanki, a Hindu Dalit student at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay [IIT-B], who took his own life on 12 February 2023 following sustained harassment and criminal intimidation by his Muslim batchmate Arman Iqbal Khatri. A special court has framed charges of criminal intimidation and abetment of suicide against Arman Iqbal, and the trial has commenced. The religious identity difference between the victim and the perpetrator is confirmed, but the religious motivation behind the harassment remains unestablished in the available source material. The case exhibits several features that warrant serious concern. Darshan Solanki was a Hindu Dalit student living in close proximity to his perpetrator in a hostel environment where he had limited means of escape or recourse. The harassment was sustained, deliberate, and severe enough to drive a young man to end his life. The suicide note he left, confirmed as authentic by handwriting experts, named Arman Iqbal directly as responsible for his death. The day before he died, Darshan told another student that Arman had threatened to harm anyone seen associating with him, reflecting a campaign of intimidation that extended beyond their personal interactions. These are not the features of a casual dispute between peers. They are the features of a targeted and sustained campaign of terror directed at a specific individual. The religious identity difference between the victim and the perpetrator is a factor that cannot be ignored. Darshan Solanki was a Hindu Dalit student. Arman Iqbal Khatri is a Muslim man. The targeting of a Hindu Dalit student by a Muslim batchmate through sustained intimidation and harassment that culminated in the victim's death raises the possibility that the religious and caste identity of the victim was a factor in his selection as a target. Hindu Dalit students in elite academic institutions occupy a position of particular social vulnerability, often navigating environments in which their identity marks them as different and potentially as targets for those who harbour communal or caste-based hostility. However the source does not confirm that Arman Iqbal's harassment of Darshan Solanki was motivated by the latter's Hindu or Dalit identity. The motive for the harassment is not established in the available material. The IIT-B internal committee found no specific evidence of direct caste-based discrimination resulting in Darshan's death. The chargesheet is based on witness statements and the suicide note, which establish what Arman did but not why he targeted Darshan specifically. Without a confirmed religious or caste-based motive, the case cannot be classified as a confirmed religiously motivated hate crime on the available evidence. It is also possible that the harassment was personal in nature, arising from a conflict between two individuals that had nothing to do with religious or caste identity. It is equally possible that Arman's targeting of Darshan was informed by the latter's Hindu Dalit identity in ways that have not yet been established in the public record. The trial that has now commenced may produce evidence that clarifies the motive and allows for a reclassification of this case. For this reason, the case has not been classified as a confirmed religiously motivated hate crime at this stage. It has instead been added to the undecided database of the tracker. If further information emerges from the trial or from the investigation confirming that Darshan Solanki was targeted because of his Hindu or Dalit identity, the case will be reclassified and moved to the hate crime database accordingly. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when the crime occurred rather than when it was reported or published. The primary incident, the death of Darshan Solanki, occurred on 12 February 2023. The most recent development, the framing of charges and commencement of the trial, took place on 15 April 2026, one day before the publication date of 16 April 2026. As the original crime occurred on 12 February 2023, this date has been used as the primary incident date for documentation purposes, with 15 April 2026 recorded as the date of the most recent legal development. This was recorded for documentation purposes only.