Recently, after eight years following his passing, the Telangana Police concluded their investigation into Rohith Vemula's death by filing a closure report.
According to the police closure report, Vemula did not identify as a Dalit. The report also claimed that Vemula took this extreme step due to the fear that his true caste would be revealed. After this development, protests has been staged by students at the University of Hyderabad, who have voiced criticism against the BJP, Union Minister Smriti Irani, and former university vice-chancellor Appa Rao Podile, who were involved in the case.
Who Was Rohith Vemula?
Rohith Vemula was a PhD student at the University of Hyderabad. He was reportedly born on January 30, 1989. He belonged to the Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh. He was a member of the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) on the campus.
Vemula reportedly took his own life on January 17, 2016. The police had recovered a note where he expressed feeling that his "birth was his fatal accident."
What Is The Political Controversy?
After Vemula's passing, there were disputes between the Congress and the BJP. The Congress accused the BJP for not taking appropriate against its leaders, who were involved in the case, which included Union Minister Smriti Irani and former university vice-chancellor Appa Rao Podile.
Additionally, another accused in the 2016 Rohith Vemula suicide case, former BJP MLC N Ramchander Rao, has claimed that the Left and Congress attempted to gain political advantage by associating the University of Hyderabad student's death with the BJP.
Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi has promised to to create the "Rohith Vemula Act," in order to address the discrimination faced by students from marginalized communities, if they come into power.
According to PTI, the Students' Federation of India (SFI) said on social media that the police's closure report "on Rohith Vemula's institutional murder is an exercise in irony."
As per the report that the police filed with the Telangana High Court on Friday, Vemula killed himself out of concern that his true caste would come to light because he was not a member of the Scheduled Caste. In addition, the family was accused of forging the caste certificates, although no proof of this was given.
