CASTE & POLITICS

Judicial panel to probe Rohit's suicide; university announces Rs 8 lakh ex-gratia

PTI1_22_2016_000254A Artists from Moradabad pay tributes to Rohith Vemula | PTI
  • Union Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani spoke to the mother of Rohith Vemula over phone and extended her condolences.

The union human resource development ministry on Friday decided to set up a judicial commission to probe the circumstances which led to the suicide of Dalit research scholar of the Hyderabad University.

The commission will submit its report in three months.

The ministry took this decision based on the findings and observations of a fact-finding committee constituted to conduct an inquiry. The two panels submitted their reports to the ministry.

"Based on its observations and findings, the ministry decided to constitute a judicial commission to review the entire sequence of events and the circumstances; and to establish the facts and correctives in the context of the university," an official statement said.

"The commission will submit its report within three months," it added.

Union Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani on Friday also spoke to the mother of Rohith Vemula over phone and extended her condolences.

The ministry, according to the statement, also took a few other decisions to address the issues faced by the students from disadvantaged social, economic and educational backgrounds in higher educational institutions comprehensively and to prevent such unfortunate incidents in future.

A programme will be launched for sensitising academic administrators about understanding and handling problems faced by socially, educationally and economically disadvantaged students.

All wardens, administrative staff and registrars would be compulsorily put through this orientation programme and a special module will be prepared for this.

A special mechanism would be set up at the ministry for receiving the grievances from these students and taking expeditious action on them.

Meanwhile, the Hyderabad University, rocked by student protests after the incident, on Friday announced Rs 8 lakh as ex-gratia assistance for the bereaved family.

A demand draft for the amount will be handed over to Rohith's mother Radhika, a university statement said here.

The decision came a day after the university revoked the suspension of four Dalit students, who along with Rohith were suspended after an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad leader alleged assault in August last year.

Vice Chancellor P. Appa Rao had also offered to reach out to Rohith's family and meet his mother.

However, the students continued their protest to demand the resignation and arrest of the vice chancellor, blaming him for the suicide of Rohith on Sunday.

As Rohith and four other Dalit students were suspended and thrown out of the university hostel, they were holding protest on the campus since early this month.

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Topics : #Rohith Vemula

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