Telangana Police Report: Rohith Vemula Not Classified as Dalit, All Accused Given Clean Chit

After his suicide, the Modi government took eight years to clarify it wasn't anti-Dalit.

Rohith Vemula Not Classified as Dalit: In a closure report filed on Friday in the Rohith Vemula death case, the Telangana Police absolved then Secunderabad MP Bandaru Dattatreya, N Ramachander Rao, Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad leaders, and Smriti Irani, the Minister for Women and Child Development. All of them have been cleared of all charges.

Rohith committed suicide at Hyderabad Central University on January 17, 2016, causing protests on campus and spreading to Delhi, where the Modi government denied allegations of discrimination against Dalits.

Among five Dalit students protesting their expulsion from the university's housing facility, he was a member of the Ambedkar Students' Association, which advocates for the rights of Dalit (formerly known as untouchable) students.

#WATCH | Delhi: On Telangana Police giving clean chit to all the accused persons in Rohith Vemula death case, BJP leader Ajay Alok says, "Rohith Vemula's suicide was shocking for us as we were in the central government. We are sensitive. It is not about whether Rohith Vemula was… pic.twitter.com/tC6AEzHDeK

— ANI (@ANI) May 3, 2024

After his suicide, the Modi government took eight years to clarify it wasn't anti-Dalit.

According to the report, the university student wasn't from a Scheduled Caste, his certificate was forged, and he committed suicide for fear of exposure.

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The police report said, “If the studies of the deceased were seen, it appeared that he was involved more in student political issues in the campus rather than in his studies. He discontinued his first Ph.D after pursuing it for 2 years and he joined another Ph.D which also did not progress much because of non academic activities.”

“In addition to this, the deceased himself is aware that he does not belong to Scheduled Caste and that his mother got him SC certificate. This could be one of the constant fears as the exposure the same would put him to loss of his academic degrees that he earned over the years and be compelled to face prosecution,” the report read.

Following doubts raised by Vemula's family, the Telangana Director General of Police later announced they would investigate the case further.

Despite best efforts, no evidence was found to establish that the actions of the accused drove the deceased to commit suicide.

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According to Rohith Vemula's family, he committed suicide as a result of harassment he received from BJP-linked Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and others based on his caste identity.

As opposed to investigating the student's treatment, the police are investigating his caste status.

Rahul Gandhi, senior Congress leader, and Aam Aadmi Party Convener Arvind Kejriwal and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, visited the campus after the death of the research scholar to support the protests for justice. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi also raised the issue in Parliament.

"Instead of investigating how my brother was targeted, harassed, and killed, the police investigated his caste status," said Vemula's brother.

It was decided to conduct a further investigation into Rohit Vemula's case, according to a statement released later on Friday by Telangana Director General of Police Ravi Gupta, since the deceased's mother and other relatives had some doubts.

The statement further stated, "A petition will be filed in the Court concerned requesting the Honourable Magistrate to permit further investigation into the case."

Telangana will vote in the Lok Sabha elections on May 13 just 10 days after the report is released.

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