In a significant development, Gachibowli police, who are leading the probe into the tragic death of University of Hyderabad PhD scholar Rohith Vemula in 2016, has filed a closure report in the case by declaring he does not belong to Scheduled Caste (SC), but he belongs to backward Class (BC). This decision comes after years of investigation and debate surrounding the incident, which sparked intense discussions about caste discrimination.
According to media reports, the closure report absolved former BJP MP Bandaru Dattatreya, BJP ex-MLC M Rachandra Rao, and then VC Appa Rao of any involvement in Vemula’s death. This conclusion marks the end of a long and contentious chapter in Indian academia and politics.
After the suicide of Rohit Vemula, left the eco-system in the country, the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) and Students Federation Of India (SFI) and all small and big left unions utilized all of its resources to exploit a student’s suicide rather than investigating what led him to death. So they determined that he belonged to the Scheduled Caste (SC) and was a victim of caste prejudice.
However, through investigations, it came to know that he received a forged SC certificate despite the fact that he belongs to the Backward Class (BC), and he was under immense pressure that his caste identity will be revealed.
In 2017, the Guntur District Collector declared that Rohit Vemula was not a Dalit, meaning he was not from the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes.
In August 2017, an inquiry commission set up by HRD Ministry stated that Vemula was a troubled individual and was unhappy for several reasons. “His suicide note is on the record which shows that Rohith Vemula had his own problems and was not happy with worldly affairs.”
“He was frustrated for the reasons best known to him…He also wrote that he was all alone from childhood and was an unappreciated man. This also indicates his frustration. He did not blame anybody for his suicide,” said the report of the one-man judicial commission under former Allahabad high court judge Justice A K Roopanwal.
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