Rohith Vemula is not Dalit: Police in Closure Report, All Accused Cleared

Vemula had died by suicide on January 17, 2016. The police report revealed that the University of Hyderabad student was not from the Scheduled Castes and his certificate was forged. The report also suggested that he died by suicide as he feared being exposed.

In response to doubts raised by Vemula’s family, the Telangana Director General of Police announced further investigation into the case. The accused, including then University of Hyderabad vice-chancellor Appa Rao and BJP leaders, were absolved of all charges. The closure report was filed on March 21 and came to light just 10 days before all 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana would vote in the fourth phase on May 13.

Telangana had a Congress government at the time and was ruled by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi before that. The Congress had supported the protests seeking justice after Vemula’s death, and senior party leader Rahul Gandhi had visited the campus, along with other political figures. Vemula’s family alleged that he died by suicide due to harassment based on his caste identity by members of the BJP-linked Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and others.

They accused the police of focusing on investigating the student’s caste status instead of the treatment allegedly inflicted upon him. Protests erupted at the university, prompting the Telangana Director General of Police to announce a further investigation into the case. The closure report stated that the deceased may have been driven to suicide due to multiple issues worrying him, and no evidence was found to establish that the accused had driven him to suicide.

In response to the closure report, Mr. Rao claimed that the charges were politically motivated and that the report reaffirmed this.