According to the report, there was a lack of evidence to pinpoint anyone responsible for Vemula’s tragic decision to end his life. Additionally, the report alleged that the caste certificates provided were forged.
In a surprising turn of events, the Telangana police have decided to reopen the investigation into the death of University of Hyderabad PhD scholar Rohith Vemula, more than a month after filing a closure report. This decision comes as ‘some doubts have been expressed’ by Vemula’s mother and others, leading to a re-evaluation of the case. The closure report initially filed by the police stated that Rohith Vemula was not a Dalit and suggested that the fear of his ‘real caste’ being exposed might have driven him to take his own life. Police said that Vemula was not from the Scheduled Castes and his certificate was forged. Furthermore, the report cleared all the accused involved in the case, raising eyebrows and sparking debates on the sensitive matter.
The accused in the case included then University of Hyderabad vice-chancellor Appa Rao and BJP leaders like then Secunderabad MP and Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya and MLC N Ramchender Rao in the case. All of them have been absolved of all charges.
Director General of Police Ravi Gupta revealed that the final report in the case was compiled back in 2018 and formally submitted to the court’s jurisdiction on March 21, 2024.
“As some doubts have been expressed by the mother and others of the deceased, Rohit Vemula, on the investigation conducted, it has been decided to conduct further investigation into the case. A petition will be filed in the court concerned requesting the Hon’ble Magistrate to permit further investigation into the case,” the DGP’s statement said as per The Indian Express.
Rohith’s family shocked by closure report
Rohith Vemula’s family, which had alleged that he died by suicide because he was harassed on the basis of his caste identity by members of the BJP-linked Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and others, has accused the police of investigating the student’s caste status instead of the treatment allegedly meted out to him.
Raja Vemula, Rohith’s brother, said the family had been shocked by the closure report. “The responsibility of the Telangana Police was to investigate if my brother was harassed to the point that he took his life. Instead, they again went for his caste. We are not going to take this, we are going to fight,” he said.
Raja said the family would approach Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, “who have supported us in the past, to reopen the case”.
Rohith Vemula’s mother Radhika Vemula maintained that she and her children belonged to a Scheduled Caste community. “I have always said that we belong to the SC Mala community, and I was raised in an OBC family. There is no disputing that we are SCs,” she said, adding that she was prepared for another fight.
The closure report was filed on March 21 but has come to light on Friday, just 10 days before all 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana will vote in the fourth phase on May 13. Telangana has a Congress government now and was ruled by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi before that.
The closure report
The closure report issued by the police regarding the suicide of Rohith Vemula has sparked a wave of controversy. According to the report, there was a lack of evidence to pinpoint anyone responsible for Vemula’s tragic decision to end his life. Additionally, the report alleged that the caste certificates provided by Vemula were forged, casting doubt on his SC category status. Shockingly, it was claimed that Vemula’s own mother assisted him in obtaining the SC certificate.
The report also claimed that Vemula feared his real caste would be revealed, and that this would lead to the loss of his academic achievements, suggesting that this was what led to his suicide.
He had previously been expelled from his hostel room after allegedly being involved in an altercation with some members of the RSS-affiliated students body, ABVP. Then MP Bandaru Datttareya was accused of putting pressure on V-C Appa Rao to punish Vemula after this incident, and the matter was allegedly followed up by MLC Ramchender Rao and then Union Education Minister Smriti Irani.
Rohith Vemula was found dead in a room on the university campus on January 17, 2016, sending shockwaves across the nation. Prior to his demise, Vemula had penned a letter to the Vice-Chancellor detailing instances of harassment, false allegations, and distress. His death triggered widespread protests and tributes nationwide, with students and activists rallying against the treatment of Dalits in academic institutions, particularly focusing on the University of Hyderabad’s handling of Vemula’s case.
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