The report of the two-member fact-finding committee set up by the Union Human Resource and Development ministry to look into the suicide by Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad University is learnt to be in the final stages of preparation and is likely to be submitted on Friday.
"It is expected that the report would be handed over to HRD Minister Smriti Irani on Friday," sources said.
It is learnt the panel spoke to a cross section of stakeholders including 70-80 individuals, including students, academicians and others during its Hyderabad visit.
The report, sources said, would dwell on the role of the university authorities, who have been blamed for the suicide, and systemic aspects to ensure such incidents do not recur.
Meanwhile, protesting students on Thursday refused to talk to faculty members who went to the protest site.
"We came here to talk to the protesting students, but they refused, so we are going back," said Sanjay, a faculty member.
Earlier on Thursday, at least, 13 faculty members -- including Professor V. Krishna, controller of exams, Chief Medical Officer Dr Ravendra Kumar, 10 hostel wardens and chief warden Nagaraju -- put in their papers from their respective posts.
"We are deeply hurt by Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani's press conference, on Wednesday, where we got labelled as Dalits," said Dr Ravindra Kumar, adding that it’s like rubbing salt on our wounds.
Moreover, the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice and the University of Hyderabad Teachers’ Association rejected an appeal made by the varsity vice chancellor Prof Appa Rao Podile to restart the classes and restore normalcy.
'At a time when the legitimacy of Prof Appa Rao to continue as a VC is in question, without attending to the protesting students, who are on indefinite hunger strike, the absconding VC and Executive Committee met today (not inside the campus) and issued a circular. We reject this illegitimate circular outright since it came through a committee headed by the VC, who, in our opinion, is not the legitimate VC anymore, but in fact a criminal on the run,' the JAC for Social Justice said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janat Party accused the Ambedkar Students Association -- the group to which Rohith belonged -- of being a part of ‘Hate-India campaign’ chain and alleged ultra-Left bodies have created a ‘camouflage’ student fora to conceal ‘nefarious objectives’.
The BJP also attacked the Congress for joining Leftists to create an 'orchestrated campaign' against the Modi government and was making Hyderabad varsity a big issue keeping in view Hyderabad corporation elections in mind.
It asked why going to Malda, Kashmir, Pathankot was not a priority for Rahul Gandhi.
BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao claimed police investigations have revealed that the caste of both the parents of Vemula was Vaddera, which is an OBC in Telanagana.
"Organising Beef Festival, celebrating Mahisasur, Hiranya Kashyap, conducting prayers for Yakub Memon’s death, supporting terrorism in various parts of the country shows for what these organisations stand for. Divisive forces organise these in campuses. Ideologies which want to see India as weak are promoting Divide India Campaigns. ASA in HCU is part of this chain," Rao said on Twitter.
In reply to a question, Rao said, "Police investigation has revealed Rohith’s parents belong to Vaddera caste which comes under Other Backward Castes in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana."
Asked again, he confirmed, "Yes, both belong to Vaddera it is on record by the parents.”
He said Rohith's suicide note is ‘self-revealing.’
"Connecting suicide to ideological adversaries is baseless and all the forces will be exposed in days to come," Rao said.
Rohith's mother, meanwhile, said that those responsible for her son’s death should be punished.
"It should be known who they are. They should definitely get punishment," she said.
She also said that she would even go to Delhi ‘for the sake of my son's ideals’. "If not here, I will go and sit in Delhi," she added.
