There has been outrage ever since it emerged that the cops not only gave a clean chit to all the accused but also said Rohith was not a Dalit.
Rohith Vemula. (vemula_radhika/X)
The office of Telangana Director General of Police (DGP) Ravi Gupta on Friday, 3 May, promised “further investigation” into the Rohith Vemula suicide case.
The assertion came hours after it emerged that Telangana Police had filed a closure report in the case.
The statement from the highest-ranking police officer in the state noted that “some doubts have been expressed by the mother and others of the deceased Rohit Vemula on the investigation conducted [sic]”.
There has been outrage ever since it came to light that the closure report not only gave a clean chit to all the accused but also asserted that Rohith was not a Dalit.
In his statement, the Telangana DGP noted that the investigation officer (IO) in the case was the assistant commissioner of police of Madhapur.
Gupta added that the final closure report in the case was prepared last year “based on the investigation conducted”. He also pointed out that this was “before November 2023”.
The Telangana Assembly elections took place on 30 November last year, and the results were declared on 3 December. Gupta was also appointed the Telangana DGP on 3 December.
He also noted in the statement that the IO officially filed the final closure report in the jurisdictional court on 21 March this year.
Gupta continued: “As some doubts have been expressed by the mother and others of the deceased Rohit Vemula on the investigation conducted, it has been decided to conduct further investigation into the case. [sic]”
He also said that a petition would be filed in the concerned court requesting the magistrate to permit further investigation into the case.
Telangana police on Friday submitted a closure report in the case related to the suicide of University of Hyderabad (UoH) PhD scholar Rohith Vemula citing a “lack of evidence”. The closure report concluded that he was not a Dalit and that his caste certificate was “fabricated”.
It said that he might have taken the extreme step because of his fear that his “real caste” would be exposed — that he did not belong to a Scheduled Caste (SC) community but a Backward Class (BC) community.
It added that there was no evidence to suggest that the actions of the accused in the case abetted his suicide.
Rohit ended his life in one of the UoH’s hostel rooms in January 2016, leaving behind a suicide note.
(Edited by Arkadev Ghoshal)
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