Ahmedabad, Feb 16 (IANS): Dalit leader and Congress MLA from Vadgam, Jignesh Mevani, on Thursday demanded an investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the recent suicide of a student from Ahmedabad on the IIT Bombay campus.

Darshan Solanki, a B.Tech student from Ahmedabad, committed suicide by jumping off the terrace of his hostel in IIT Bombay last Sunday.

Mevani told the media that the tragic incident involved a Dalit student who got into IIT Bombay after clearing the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) with flying colours.

The Maharashtra government should set up an SIT to probe the incident because the family suspects foul play, Mevani said. The Dalit leader also demanded that the government should pay Rs 50 lakh compensation to the deceased student's family.

Solanki's father, Ramesh Solanki, has alleged that his son was harassed by the other students because "we are Dalits".

"When he visited us during Makar Sankranti, he had complained to his aunt that the other students were harassing him, taunting him that 'because you are a Dalit, you got an opportunity to study free of cost'," Ramesh Solanki said.

He also alleged that even before they reached the IIT campus in Mumbai, Solanki's post-mortem was carried out without their consent.