May 03, 2024 10:33 PM IST
The Telangana police on Friday filed a closure report on Rohith Vemula death case, claiming that he was not a Dalit.
The Telangana police on Friday filed a closure report in the death case of Rohith Vemula, who was a student of University of Hyderabad. After years of political controversy surrounding Vemula’s death, the police claimed in its report that he was not a Dalit and feared that his “real identity” would be revealed to the university.
After the closure report in the Rohith Vemula death case was filed on May 3, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the suicide of the student did not take place because of any suicide abetment, and false allegations were put against the accused in the case.
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BJP spokesperson Rachna Reddy told ANI, “After a detailed and thorough investigation, the said suicide was not due to any suicide abetment… The abetment has nothing to do with the BJP leaders at that time, the management…”
Reddy further added, “We have reservations, specific criminal laws and provisions to protect the SC-ST community from discrimination. But, when you instil such false allegations, you are doing a disservice to the people who are genuinely discriminated against on the said lines. Please, don’t make it political. Rahul Gandhi made it political in 2016, and it backfired… Political parties should not flare up already inflamed lives and students.”
Read more: Rohith Vemula was not Dalit, Telangana Police closes case; protest at HCU campus
The report filed by the Telangana police said that Rohith Vemula “had multiple issues worrying him” which could have driven him to suicide, discrediting the possibility of an abetment case in his death.
“In addition to this, the deceased himself was aware that he did not belong to Scheduled Caste and that his mother got him a SC certificate. This could be one of the constant fears as the exposure of the same would result in a loss of his academic degrees that he earned over the years and be compelled to face prosecution,” the report said.
Read more: Protest, tribute mark Rohith Vemula death anniversary
The police further claimed that the investigation showed no evidence of the action of the accused – then UoH vice-chancellor Appa Rao Podile and incumbent Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya – driving Vemula to commit suicide.
Rohith Vemula died by suicide in 2016 and his death sparked a political row between Congress and BJP, with Rahul Gandhi taking on the Central government in Parliament and the then Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani with allegations of caste-based discrimination by the Modi cabinet.
(With inputs from agencies)
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