Investigation into the alleged suicide of Dalit PhD scholar Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad University has revealed that on September 3, 2015, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development had written a letter to the central university. The letter, accessed by CNN-IBN, was written by the ministry after it received a note signed by Minister of State (MoS) Labour Bandaru Dattatreya in which he had raised some issues and intimated the ministry about some clashes that took place between two groups of students in August 2015.
In the first letter, the ministry had written to the Hyderabad Central University seeking details and asking them to examine the letter written by Bandaru. The ministry in its second letter reminded the registrar of the university that no information and comments had been received and requested the varsity to expedite the matter so that a reply can be sent to the MoS.
The HRD ministry has been facing allegations that its intervention had led to the suicide of the Dalit student. The ministry has maintained that it had only sought a status report regarding a clash between two students' associations in August 2015. There was some violence that was reported in Hyderabad after a group of students had allegedly attacked Susheel Kumar, the then President of ABVP unit in the University of Hyderabad.
A case has been registered against Bandaru Dattatreya and vice chancellor of the Hyderabad Central University in connection with the suicide case of Rohith. The case has been registered under the SC/ST Act.
The issue also took a political turn with allegations that the extreme action by Rohith was a result of discrimination against Dalit students at the behest of Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, who had written a letter to HRD Minister Smriti Irani, seeking action against their "anti-national acts".
Giving a detailed sequence of events, ministry sources said on the night of August 3, 2015, a group of students suspected to be belonging to Ambedkar Students Association allegedly attacked Kumar and the Proctorial Board of the University inquired into the matter.
It was the Executive council of the University that then approved the expulsion of five students including Rohith. Ministry sources also emphasised that subsequently, an Executive Sub Committee which included a senior Dalit faculty member and headed by senior most professor was constituted, which upheld these recommendations.
However, later at a meeting of Executive council, a lenient view was taken as expulsion would have deprived the students to continue PhD and it was decided to permit them in their departments, library and academic meetings and not in hostel, administration and other public places.
The decision was challenged by the students in the court. Three of the students also started protest by sleeping in open, the sources added.
The sources also added that Dean Students Welfare had regularly counselled the students to have patience to know the court's decision while the Vice Chancellor had also discussed the issue with them.
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