The duty doctor at the University of Hyderabad health centre on Thursday appeared to contradict the claim of HRD Minister Smriti Irani that no doctor was allowed near the body of research scholar Rohith Vemula on the day he had died either to revive him or remove him to hospital.
Dr M Rajshree, the doctor on duty that fateful day when Rohith had allegedly committed suicide on Jan 17, said today she was the one who examined the body and had declared him dead.
She said the body of Rohit was lying on a cot and police had reached 15 minutes after she had gone to the hostel room on the day he had died after she got information at around 7.20 pm that one of the students had attempted suicide.
During a debate in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday on the controversies surrounding the Hyderabad University and the JNU, Irani had said nobody allowed a doctor near Rohith either to revive him or take him to the hospital.
"Nobody allowed a doctor near him. The police has reported that no one attempt was made to revive this child, not one attempt was made to take him to a doctor. Instead what was done was that his body was used as a political tool, hidden. No police was allowed till 6.30, the next morning. It is not me the Telangana police is saying this," she had said.
