Cause of Rohith's suicide must be probed, says ABVP leader

Hyderabad: The President of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s (ABVP) Hyderabad wing, Susheel Kumar, who is also accused of causing dalit scholar Rohith Vemula to take the extreme step of committing suicide, has clarified that Vemula was not someone who would have ended his life over the suspension or a quarrel, and the actual reason should be probed by the authorities. Kumar was in the city on Friday to speak about the incident and absolve ABVP of the blame of Vemula’s suicide by claiming that the issue was not one of Dalit and non-dalit but that of nationalist versus anti-nationalists.

“Rohith was not a person who would commit suicide for a small reason such as suspension or a run in with other students. Instead of making it a Dalit versus non-dalit issue, a fair and systematic judicial probe should be conducted into Rohith’s death. If I am found guilty, I am ready to face the consequences,” he said. Elaborating on the events that led to the altercation between ABVP and Ambedkar Students Association. “The HCU campus has students adhering to different ideologies but when a religious gathering glorifying 1993 blast convict Yakub Menon was held after he was hanged. Slogans like “Yakub, tere khoon se inklaab aayega” (Yakub, your blood will bring a revolution) were raised. I wrote a Facebook post opposing the same, which led to members of the Ambedkar Students Association (ASA) beating me up and also forcing me to write an apology. The events led to the suspension of the students,” he added.

Reiterating that ASA has always been a violent organisation, he said, “When my mother met the vice-chancellor of HCU fearing my safety after the assault, the ASA activists barged in the V-C’s cabin and started shouting and tried to damage the computer in a fit of rage. I approached the state government with my complaints with a request to intervene in the matter but a probe in the assault case was ordered by the high court after my mother approached it. The suspension from the hostel was based on high court directions and not my complaint to the state,” said Kumar.

The Mumbai unit of the ABVP along with Kumar raised questions on issues like how Rohith got access to the hostel room even after being suspended.