Radhika Vemula Challenges Police Report on Son’s Caste, Demands Fair Re-Investigation

 Hyderabad: Radhika Vemula, the mother of the late scholar Rohith Vemula, challenged the Telangana police’s closure report that concluded her son was not a Dalit and absolved BJP leaders and the university's former vice chancellor.

“How can my own child not be a Dalit when I am," Radhika Vemula said, questioning the flawed reasoning of the report.

She countered the allegations in the police report concerning her son's academic commitment. "They have spread false information about my son. Rohith came second when he was in Class 10. He also scored good marks," she asserted emotionally on Saturday evening.

The Ambedkar Students' Association (ASA), representing backward communities at the university, also condemned the report’s focus on Rohith Vemula's caste. An ASA spokesperson shared their reaction to the report speaking to DC saying, “When we got the report into our hands, it was a great shock and disappointment to hear that it focused on denying Rohith's Dalit identity.”

Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has expressed doubts regarding the report prepared by the previous government and has promised transparency and fairness in the re-investigation, Rohith’s brother Raja Vemula said.

The report’s portrayal of Rohith Vemula as having violent tendencies, based solely on testimony from ABVP and BJP leaders, was particularly contentious, students said. "This report has been fabricated with lies and mistruths. It is a shock for us," stated the ASA, rejecting the narrative shaped by the authorities.

The university's progressive organisations have rallied for the withdrawal of the report and demanded action against the officers involved.

The ongoing controversy surrounding the closure report has ignited significant unrest among students and social activists across the state and country who said the protests would only be intensified if "damage control" isn't done immediately.