Police Closure Report States Rohith Vemula Was Not Dalit, Died by Suicide

In a significant development, the local court received a closure report from the police regarding the investigation into the death of Rohith Vemula, a student from the University of Hyderabad. The report concluded that Vemula, who died by suicide in 2016, was not a Dalit and expressed concerns over his caste identity being revealed. This conclusion has led to the exoneration of all accused individuals in the case, including prominent political figures and university officials.

The investigation, conducted by the Cyberabad police, found no evidence to support that Vemula belonged to the Scheduled Caste category. It was revealed that concerns over his caste identity and the potential exposure of his non-SC status, which could jeopardize his academic qualifications and lead to legal repercussions, were factors contributing to his distress. The police report explicitly stated that despite thorough investigations, there was no evidence linking the actions of the accused to Vemula's decision to end his life.

Among those accused were the then Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hyderabad, Appa Rao Podile, former BJP MP Bandaru Dattatreya, former BJP MLC N Ramachander Rao, and leaders from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The closure report has absolved these individuals of any wrongdoing in connection with Vemula's death.

The incident had previously escalated into a major political controversy, drawing criticism from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi towards the Central government and counter-accusations from then Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani. The Congress party had accused Irani, Dattatreya, and other BJP and ABVP members of discriminating against students from marginalized communities within universities.

Rohith Vemula's brother, Raja Vemula, when approached for a comment on the closure report, chose not to respond. Meanwhile, Amit Malviya, in charge of the BJP's IT department, hailed the closure report as a vindication of truth. He criticized Rahul Gandhi for allegedly exploiting the situation for political gain and suggested that Gandhi owed an apology to both student and Dalit communities for his actions.

In response to the closure report's findings, a group of students at the University of Hyderabad staged a protest. They raised slogans against BJP, Smriti Irani, and former Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao Podile, expressing their discontent with the investigation's outcome.

This closure report marks an end to the legal inquiry into Rohith Vemula's death but continues to stir discussions on caste identity and discrimination within academic institutions in India.