Personal issues and not the University officials or ABVP leaders led to PhD student Rohith Vemula death by suicide, the Telangana Police said while closing its probe in this case. Vemula was not a “Dalit”, and his caste certificate was forged, the police said.
“The deceased himself is aware that he does not belong to Scheduled Caste and his mother got him SC certificate,” the closure report filed before the Telangana High Court read. “Severe depression”, “disappointment” and fear that his “real caste identity” would be revealed could be the reasons that drove Vemula to take the extreme step, the police said.
“Despite best efforts, no evidence could be found to establish that the actions of the accused have driven the deceased to commit suicide,” the police said in its report filed more than eight years after Vemula’s death in January 2016.
The Telangana Police closure report gives a clean chit to former MP and now Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, BJP leader N Ramachander Rao, then Vice Chancellor P Appa Rao, ABVP leaders and Union Minister Smriti Irani.
In 2016, Irani was the Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD) at the time of Vemula’s death.
The closure report comes eight years after the PhD scholar’s death and as the country enters phase 3 of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections with Telangana going to polls on May 13.
Vemula’s death had triggered a political storm and nationwide student protests. The academic fraternity hit out at the administration calling the PhD scholar’s death an “institutional murder.” The Congress backed the “Justice for Rohith” campaign and its current manifesto proposes ending caste discrimination through the Rohith Vemula Act.
Vemula’s mother Radhika had also joined Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on the Hyderabad leg of his 2023 Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Vemula’s family however called the closure report “absurd” and indicated their intent to appeal the same. The high court today allowed Vemula’s family to contest the closure report before the trial court.
Rohith Vemula not a Dalit, but OBC: Telangana Police
The police said Rohith Vemula, a PhD scholar at Hyderabad University, was not a “Dalit”. Caste certificates issued to Vemula and his family (mother and brother) are also forged, the police asserted in its report.
“The deceased himself is aware that he does not belong to Scheduled Caste and his mother got him SC certificate. This could be one of the constant fears as the exposure the same would put him to loss (sic) of his academic degrees that he earned over the years and be compelled to face prosecution. This, the deceased had multiple issues worrying him which could have driven him to commit suicide,” the report said.
The police claims are a reiteration of Telangana government and ex-Allahabad high court judge AK Roopanwal report which asserted that Vemula was not a Dalit. This is significant since BJP has maintained that Vemula was a Vaddera, which falls in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category.
Vemula was aware that if people found out his real caste identity, he would lose out on his academic opportunities and possibly face consequences as well, the police said.
Shortly before his death, Vemula had blamed his professors of caste bias. “Please serve 10 mg of Sodium Azide to all Dalit students at the time of admission with directions to use when they feel like reading Ambedkar. Supply a nice rope to the rooms of all Dalit students from a companion, the great Chief Warden,” Vemula had said in his note t P Appa Rao, the Vice Chancellor at the time. Euthanasia should be made available to students like him,” he added in his note to the VC.
The university administration had suspended Vemula and four others over allegations of committing “casteist” and “anti-national” activities as members of the Ambedkar Students’ Association (ASA).
The university subsequently expelled Vemula because of which he is said to have spent several days out in the open.
Personal problems, not university possible cause of problems
The police asserted that personal problems could have been the root cause of Rohith Vemula’s depression.
Vemula took his life as “he had his own problems and was not happy with worldly affairs” the police said giving a clean chit to the university administration. The report further asserted that Vemula appeared “to be involved more in student political issues in the campus than studies.”
“If he would have been angry with the decision of the University, certainly either he would have written in specific words or would have indicated in this regard. But he did not do the same. It shows that the circumstances prevailing in the university at the time were not the reason for Rohith’s death,” the report adds.