Rohith Vemula not a Dalit, says police in closure report

University of Hyderabad research scholar Rohith Vemula Chakravarthy, who ended his life in a hostel room on January 17, 2016, had multiple issues worrying him and they would have driven him to end his life. This is the conclusion of the closure report filed by the Gachibowli police of the Cyberabad Police Commissionerate. And no evidence was found to establish that the actions of the accused persons drove him to the extreme step, the report noted.

The Gachibowli police, collating its various findings, including contentions whether Rohith Vemula belonged to a Scheduled Caste, and if the accused persons — members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, Bharatiya Janata Party, and the university top officials — were responsible for his suicide, cited ‘lack of evidence’ and filed the closure report before the court on March 21. A copy of the report was obtained by The Hindu on Friday.

According to the report, the police investigated 11 broad questions, primarily the allegations made by complainant in the case research scholar and leader of Ambedkar Students’ Association Dontha Prashanth.