NOWSHERA: Students and Youth of All India Confederation of SC/ST/OBC Organisations on Friday assembled in large numbers at Nowshera to show solidarity with a PhD Scholar Rohith Vemula who committed suicide in Hyderabad.
Vemula, was one of the five Dalit scholars, who was expelled by the Central University on the recommendation of HRD Minister for allegedly attacking a student activist belonging to Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in August 2015. Since then they were barred from entering the administrative building, hostels, libraries, mess and other common areas. They later formed a Joint Action Committee for Social Justice (JAC) to fight back against the university’s decision.
The PhD scholar had been sleeping in the open along with other expelled students for the past two weeks, demanding reinstatement.
On Sunday evening during the protest, Vemula managed to enter the NRS hostel, locked himself and took the extreme step.
Following Vemula’s death, protesting student and youth demanded police to register a case under SC/ST Atrocity Act against Union Minister HRD and BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya while alleging that he had written to HRD Ministry seeking action against these research scholars.
Later the protester burnt the effigy of HRD Minister Smriti Irani. Susheel Kumar Youth Leader of SC ST OBC Confederation called upon the Prime Minister that person responsible behind such heinous crime may be expelled from his Govt and booked and punished under law.
Protesters warned the Centre and Hyderbad Govt to immediately sack VC of the Hyderabad University otherwise they continue the struggle.
Ashish Heer, Shubham Bhardwaj, Vinay Bhardwaj, Manish Jandyal, Parvesh Kumar, Akshay Kumar, Gurujeet Singh, Som Raj Banger, President Shri Guru Ravi Dass Sabha Harjeet Samyal, Bodh Raj Heer, Nanak Chand, Kirpal Singh and Gurumeet Singh were also present on the occasion.