Dalit student's death: Protest escalates, Rahul Gandhi visits campus

Hyderabad Protests escalated on Tuesday over the alleged suicide by a dalit research scholar with activists of a local outfit demonstrating outside the residence of Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya who has been accused in the case demanding his immediate resignationCongress Vice President Rahul Gandhi visited the University of Hyderabad and interacted with students over the issue even as several students in campuses outside the state came out of classes in solidarity with their counterparts in HyderabadThe activists of TJYF Telengana Jagruti Youth Front a cultural outfit headed by TRS MP Kalvakuntla Kavitha raised slogans outside the house of Dattatreya at Ram Nagar in Hyderabad and blamed him for the death of PhD scholar Rohit Vemula who was found hanging in his hostel room on Sunday triggering angry reactionsHolding placards the protestors demanded that the minister should resign immediately Thirty seven of the protesters were taken into preventive custody when they held a dharna near the Union Ministers house Deputy Commissioner of Police Central Zone V B Kamalasan Reddy said They were later let offOn the university campus scores of students who intensified their protests demanded that Dattatreya BJP MLC Ramchander Rao universitys Vice Chancellor P Appa Rao and two ABVP leaders against whom cases were registered for abetting suicide of Rohit be jailedRaising slogans like We want justice they held Dattatreya and others responsible for Rohits death and took out a rally on the campus Resignation of the Vice Chancellor immediate revocation of suspension of the four students by the university employment to a member of Rohits family an exgratia of Rs 50 lakh were among the other demands made by the agitators Rohit was among the five research scholars who were suspended by the university in August last year and also one of the accused in the case of assault on a student leaderA twomember Trinamool Congress delegation led by party MP and national spokesperson Derek OBrien is going to Hyderabad this evening to express solidarity with the students protesting against the alleged suicide Earlier speaking to reporters on the University campus Congress MP V Hanumantha Rao alleged that university Vice Chancellor Appa Rao was responsible for the suicide ofthe student and demanded his suspensionHe further alleged that a social boycott was imposed on the students who were suspended earlier including the dalit research scholar who allegedly committed suicide A group of students was also trying to install a memorial for the deceased student Rohit on the campus We are going to keep the university shut till all our demands are met a girl student said and alleged the whole development betrayed the casteist mentality prevailing in the higher echelons of the societyAnother student said No assault took place against any ABVP leader including Sushil Kumar There is a political agenda Why he Dattatreya is interested in writing letters against our students to the HRDMeanwhile in Pune the students of FTII sat on a daylong hunger strike outside the institutes gate here expressing solidarity with students protesting over the alleged suicide The hunger strike started with eight students and slowly other students too are joining the protest FTII Students Association president Harishankar Nachimuthu saidAnother students body representative Yashaswi Mishra said We feel that the unfortunate incidents like death of Rohit Vemula is an institutional murder The very ideology that led to this devastating tragedy has to be fought across We stand together with the students community fighting for quality of education beyond caste class and biases We condemn the governments attempts to suppress and crush voices of disagreement and at this hour of crisis stand together with the larger student fraternityIn Mumbai several students held a protest outside the office of Mumbai University in Kalina area to condemn the dalit students death Students wing of NCP also held protests at various places in MaharashtraRPI leader Ramdas Athawale would be visiting the students family in Hyderabad tomorrow Dattatreya Rao and three others were yesterday named in an FIR lodged with the Cyberabad police over the alleged suicide of the dalit studentThe issue took a political turn with allegations that the extreme action was a result of discrimination against dalit students at the behest of Dattatreya who had written a letter to HRD Minister Smriti Irani seeking action against their antinational acts