Rohith suicide: protests continue to rock UoH

Hyderabad

Seven more students also joined and continued their protest demanding action against Union ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya and University Vice-Chancellor Prof Appa rao.

Former Union Minister and Leader of the congress party in Lok Sabha Mr Mallikarjuna Kharge will visit the unviersity this afternoon and interact with the protesting students.  

Rohith was among the five students who were expelled from the UoH hostel, as punishment for getting into a scuffle with ABVP member Susheel Kumar. The Joint Action Committee (JAC) for social justice, an umbrella of 14 student groups, has also called for 'Chalo Hyderabad Central University'  on January 25 and appealed to students, workers, activists, intellectuals and other  progressive and democratic sections of the society to reach the university.

It has decided to continue the protest till all the culprits responsible for the death of Rohith and the injustice meted out to all the five Dalit research scholars are punished.

It is demanding that central minister Bandaru Dattaetreya, Vice Chancellor Appa Rao and others be punished under the SC/ST Atrocities Act.  It is also seeking the sacking of the vice chancellor. Other demands include Rs.50 lakh compensation to Rohith's family and employment for one family member.

In a bid to defuse the raging controversy, the Centre earlier had decided to set up a judicial commission to go into the dalit student's suicide in Hyderabad University.

The University earlier also announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 8 lakh to the family of Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula who committed suicide on January 17.

The announcement came a day after the university authorities revoked the suspension of four students against whom the action had been taken along with Mr Vemula for allegedly assaulting an ABVP leader in August last year.