20-yr-old attempts suicide after being ‘harassed’ by college in Mumbai

Twenty-year-old Chandresh Solanki, a final-year computer technology student of Terna Polytechnic, Navi Mumbai, allegedly attempted to commit suicide on February 4 after being harassed by college authorities.

Moreover, he claimed that the Koparkhairane police station twice refused to file his complaint against the college for abetting his suicide attempt. Officials have agreed to register the complaint on Tuesday, Solanki said.

“Last year, I complained to the Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education (MSBTE) about the inadequate number of benches, computers, fans, water coolers, etc in the college. College authorities then started harassing me in various ways. I had been a good performer for two years but started getting low marks after I filed the complaint,” he said.

Solanki alleged that the college had taken huge sums of donations from some students and was biased towards them while marking them in exams. He had complained about the same to the technical board, which appointed a committee in October to look into the allegations. A team had also visited the college.

On February 4, students were to leave for Goa for an industrial visit. Just when Solanki was ready to leave at 4.30pm, he got a notice from the principal, disallowing him from being part of the trip.

He said that this was the trigger for him to attempt suicide. “If the college authorities had a problem with my going on the tour, why did they have to send the notice at the last minute? I know they did this to take revenge for the complaint I had filed,” said Solanki.

At 8.30pm, he slit his wrists on the college campus with a cutter. He fainted and was taken to a Navi Mumbai hospital where he regained consciousness. He said that he had written a suicide note, which is missing.

Ravi Yerigeri, principal, said, “We had received many complaints about Solanki. We asked him to call his parents, but he did not do so. That was why we stopped him from going on the industrial visit. He seems to be mentally unstable. We will sort out the matter.”

Solanki had also approached the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena for help. On Monday, MNVS members approached the principal and demanded a refund of the industrial visit fees, hospital charges and asked the school to suspend the two teachers who were harassing Solanki. Yerigeri said, “It is a serious matter and we will have to take action but only after we have investigated matter.”