The Congress emphasized on Sunday that there were numerous discrepancies in the previous investigation into the death of Rohith Vemula in 2016, vowing that its government in Telangana would spare no effort to ensure justice for his family.
Police in Telangana recently filed a closure report in court, asserting that Rohith Vemula, a University of Hyderabad student, was not a Dalit and had died by suicide out of fear that his "real caste" would be revealed.
Congress leader K C Venugopal condemned Rohith Vemula's death as a grave injustice that exposed the BJP's anti-Dalit mindset. He affirmed the Congress's unwavering support for Vemula's family, stating that the closure report in question was prepared in June 2023 and contained numerous irregularities.
Venugopal assured that the Congress government in Telangana would meticulously investigate the case to ensure justice for Rohith's family. He further pledged that if the Congress formed a government at the Centre, it would enact a Rohith Vemula Act aimed at addressing caste and communal atrocities on campuses, ensuring that no student from a socio-economically disadvantaged background faced similar challenges in the future.
These statements followed a meeting between Rohith Vemula's mother, Radhika Vemula, and Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, during which she urged him to ensure justice for her family. Reddy assured her of a fair and transparent investigation, according to Rohith Vemula's brother Raja Vemula.
Radhika Vemula expressed dissatisfaction with the closure report's assertion that her son did not belong to the Scheduled Castes (SC), reaffirming her own Dalit identity and rejecting the notion that her son did not excel academically.
In response to doubts raised by Rohith Vemula's mother and others regarding the closure report, Telangana Director General of Police Ravi Gupta announced that further investigation would be conducted into the case.
