IIT-B death: Prosecution submits message from victim’s phone

MUMBAI: The special court rejected the plea to extend the police remand of the accused in the IIT Bombay student’s suicide abetment case and sent him to judicial custody till April 29. The prosecution had sought seven days of additional police custody of Arman Khatri, deceased IIT Bombay student Darshan Solanki’s classmate arrested on charges of abetting his suicide. “Read the report, heard both sides, perused papers. In my view no justified ground is made out to secure the further presence of accused with police,” saidthe special judge on Saturday.
Following the hearing, Khatri’s lawyer, Dinesh Gupta, submitted a bail plea which is likely to come up forhearing next week.
The prosecution submitted a message retrieved from Solanki’s phone revealed that he had profusely apologised to Khatri for making communal remarks and also told him he was leaving the city, but instead of accepting the apology, the accused had threatened him with a paper cutter in the days leading to the February suicide. The remand plea submitted and argued by special public prosecutor Veena Shelar quoted Solanki’s message, “Hii Arman Bhai, baat karni hai tere se, maf kar de mereko aage se kuchh nahi hoga. Bhai main ghar ja raha hu, Mumbai chhod ke (Brother, I want to talk to you, forgive me. Nothing will happen henceforth. Brother I am going home and leaving Mumbai). ” Shelar said this showed Solanki wastroubled and distressed because of the accused.
Khatri is also booked under sections of the SC/ST Act. Arrested on April 9, he was produced for his third remand hearing on Saturday.
The defence said in the bail plea that charges related to abetment of suicide are not made out and there are no ingredients to invoke these. It was also submitted there are no direct or indirect allegations against Khatri. The plea said neither Solanki’s parents have complained about Khatri nor have they said that Solanki had complained that Arman had threatened him. The plea said college authorities had already given Khatri a clean chit and so had Powai police, the first to investigate the case. The defence also said he is a student and currently exams are on.