New Delhi: Protests broke out outside the Human Resource Development Ministry(HRD) on Monday evening in connection with the death of a Dalit PhD scholar Rohith Vemula, who was found hanging in the Hyderabad University hostel.
Police used water canons to disperse the angry protesters.
A case has been registered against Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya and the University's Vice-Chancellor under the SC/ST Act.
In 2015, Dattatreya had written to the HRD Ministry seeking action against Rohith and four other Dalit students for allegedly attacking an ABVP activist.
However, Dattatreya distanced himself from the suicide case and said his letter has nothing to do with it.
"My letter has no connection with the suicide case of the Dalit student. I have written letter because some anti-social elements who were attacking Akhil Bharatiya Vishwa Parishad members. I would not like to comment on the case against me."
Rohith, was one of the five Dalit scholars, who was expelled by the university in 2015 for allegedly attacking a student activist belonging to ABVP in August 2015. Sources said, he was doing his PhD in science technology and society studies for the past two years.
Then the university ordered a probe and the final decision by the proctorial board (disciplinary authority of the Institute) led to the expulsion of Rohith along with four others.
Since then they were barred from entering the administrative building, hostels, libraries, mess and other common areas, leading to massive protests by students. They later formed a Joint Action Committee for Social Justice (JAC) to fight back against the university's decision.
The action against the students came reportedly after Dattatreya wrote to HRD Minister Smriti Irani after an ABVP activist was manhandled. ABVP had reacted sharply after some students unions protested death sentence given to 1993 blast accused Yakub Memon. It was in the wake of this incident that Dattatreya reportedly took up the matter with the HRD Ministry.
Rohith and other students were protesting on Sunday evening when he managed to enter the NRS hostel, locked himself and took the extreme step.
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