Rohit Vemula suicide: Hyderabad University suspends two professors

Hyderabad: UoH professors Dr K.Y. Ratnam and Dr Tathagata Sengupta, who were arrested along with 25 students from the campus in March, were issued suspension orders on Monday.

When vice-chancellor Prof. Appa Rao Podile returned from leave in March to resume duty, students protesting the suicide by Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula gathered at the VC’s Lodge where an executive council was going on.
Some of the students vandalised the building, and the protests continued till the evening. The police arrested 25 students and the professors.

The university cited the Central government rule which says: “If a government servant is detained in custody, whether on a criminal charge or otherwise, for a period exceeding 48 hours, he will be deemed to have been placed under suspension by an order of the appointing authority with effect from the date of detention.” The orders were not issued until Monday.

Prof. Vipin Srivastava, Pro-VC-I, UoH, said, “Employees under detention are deemed to be suspended if they are in custody for more than 48 hours. The V-C decided to communicate the suspension only after taking up the issue with the Executive Council, which was recently conducted, where it was decided that suspension orders should be issued. On Monday the suspension was communicated.”