FIR against Union labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya

HYDERABAD: Student protests erupted in Telangana and New Delhi on Monday following the suicide of a Dalit research scholar, Rohith Vemula, in the Hyderabad Central University. The incident prompted the state police to register a FIR against Union labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya, while the Union HRD ministry reacted by appointing a two-member fact finding committee to probe the circumstances that led to the researcher’s death. Dattatreya was booked for his alleged role in the suspension of Dalit students by the University, which allegedly forced Vemula, one of the suspended research scholars, to commit suicide on Sunday night.

Five research scholars were suspended last August but their suspension was revoked subsequently, though they were expelled from their hostel in December. The students were allowed access to classrooms, library and conferences and workshops. Following complaints by students, the Gachibouli police booked cases against the central minister and three others on charges of abetting suicide. They have also been charged under SC/ST Atrocities Act.

Various political outfits, including the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, swung into action demanding prosecution of BJP leaders, including the central minister. Kalvakuntla Kavitha, TRS MP and daughter of Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao, criticised Dattatreya for his ‘involvement.’ She alleged that Dattatreya pressured university authorities through Union HRD minister Smrithi Irani to suspend five Dalit students in his bid to protect the interests of ABVP leaders.