Telangana: Police gives clean chit to all the accused in Rohith Vemula case, says 'he was not a Dalit'

The Telangana Police closed its investigation into the death of Rohith Vemula, a PhD scholar at the University of Hyderabad, who took his own life in January 2016.

 

The police investigation indicates that Rohith Vemula's suicide stemmed from his apprehension of his true caste being revealed, as he identified himself as belonging to the Scheduled Caste category. In 2015, Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya wrote to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, alleging "casteist, extremist, and anti-national politics" at the university, which resulted in accusations of abetment to suicide.

 

The report clears former Hyderabad University Vice Chancellor Appa Rao and BJP leaders, including the then Secunderabad MP Bandaru Dattatreya, Union Minister Smriti Irani, former MLC N Ramachander Rao, and ABVP leaders of any involvement in the case.

 

Former Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya wrote to the Ministry of Human Resource Development regarding alleged "casteist, extremist, and anti-national politics" at the university, which led to accusations of abetment to suicide.

In its report to the court, the police stated that Rohith Vemula knew he wasn't part of the Scheduled Caste (SC) community and that his mother obtained an SC certificate for him. This fear of exposure could have been constant because it might lead to the loss of his academic degrees earned over the years and potential prosecution.

 

The report also noted that Vemula faced several issues that may have contributed to his decision to end his life. However, the police stated that there was no evidence to prove that the actions of the accused had directly caused Vemula to take his own life.

 

Vemula's brother, Raja, rejected the police claims as "incorrect" and stated that they would seek assistance from Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy.

"It is absolutely wrong, a police officer cannot decide on a person's caste. We are going to meet Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Saturday. We will file a protest petition and other options will also be taken up," Raja Vemula said.