A Dalit student of BTech first year at IIT Bombay committed suicide on Sunday afternoon by jumping from the hostel building, prompting a student body to blame institutional apathy.

According to a friend, 18-year-old Darshan Solanki had complained to a senior student about the taunts he had to face over his admission into the IIT despite a low rank in the Joint Entrance Examination-Advanced. The student from Gujarat had also performed poorly in a recent examination.

“Either both the factors or one of the factors could push him to end his life. It is a fact that he did not get any institutional support,” Darshan’s friend said.

The police are investigating the case. Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC), a group of students representing the deprived sections, said the support system is missing for students belonging to socially backward communities and coming from non-urban, non-English-speaking backgrounds.

“It is no hidden fact that students from the Scheduled Caste-Scheduled Tribe community face immense harassment and discrimination on the campus from students, faculty, and employees. These institutional and casual ways of casteism cause psychological stress on students, but the IITs lack mechanisms to help them,” said the APSC statement.

An email was sent to IIT Bombay director Prof Subhasis Chaudhuri and he replied: “Please check the veracity of such allegations. The police are trying to find out the reasons. Better to wait for their report.” A member of the APSC said that the institution had a Student Wellness Centre (SWC), but there was neither a counsellor belonging to SC or ST communities nor were they trained in handling cases of mental health arising out of caste-based discrimination.