Hyderabad: The police filed a closure report before the High Court that there was no evidence that Rohith Vemula committed suicide because he was insulted and harassed for being a Dalit. After considering this report, the High Court closed the hearing on the petition. Former HCU VC Apparao filed a petition in the High Court in 2016 to quash the FIR registered in Gachibowli PS.
The police report claimed that Rohith Vemula was not a Dalit and died by suicide as he feared that his "real identity" would be discovered, according to PTI. The Cyberabad police that investigated the case informed the court that Rohith Vemula did not belong to Scheduled Caste and that he was aware of it.
Following this, the High Court issued notices to the complainant along with the police. The Gachibowli Police submitted a report to the High Court on the 2nd of this month.
The Gachibowli police stated in the report that Prashanth, a PhD student, had complained that he (Rohith Vemula) had committed suicide because he had been harassed for being a Dalit. He mentioned the names of VC Apparao, and BJP leaders Bandaru Dattatreya, N. Ranchandra Rao, and Smriti Irani in the complaint.
No evidence found: As part of the investigation, Gachibowli police concluded that no evidence was found that harassment was the reason for Rohit Vemula's suicide. After considering this report, the High Court concluded the hearing on Apparao's petition. Counsel for the defendant Prashant was instructed to go to the concerned court if there is any objection to the police report.
On January 17, 2016, Rohit Vemula committed suicide at Hyderabad Central University (HCU). Dalit groups across the country protested that Rohit committed suicide due to the harassment of the university authorities and other student unions. Rohith, who died by suicide, demanded that a law be made to protect the rights of Dalit students in educational institutions.
The Congress party supported the protesting students in this incident. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also reacted at that time to this incident. He tweeted on this issue that "Rohit Vemula was killed with racial discrimination.. insults. Even after all these years, Rohit and his mother stand as symbols of resistance and faith". Rahul said in an earlier tweet that Rohith, who fought till his death, is "my hero, my brother."
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