Hyderabad, Jan 17: Radhika Vemula has been arrested for protesting at Hyderabad university campus. She was protesting on the occasion of first anniversary of Rohit Vemula’s suicide. Rohit Vemula allegedly committed suicide ago in Hyderabad Central University campus. His suicide prompted protests across the country.
In an earlier development, the students of the University of Hyderabad held a major protest outside the university seeking justice for Rohith Vemula. The agitated students also clashed with the police. Since Rohith Vemula committed suicide, the students and his family members have been fighting to get justice for Vemula. The protesters have vowed to continue fighting till courts announce a favourable verdict in Vemula suicide case.
Apart from Radhika Vemula, Jaan Mohammad, brother of Mohammad Akhlaq allegedly killed by a mob in lynch for consuming beef was also invited for addressing the protesters. However, the university administration, in a circular, ordered protesters and media persons to not enter the university premises.
The Joint Action Committee for Social Justice, an umbrella grouping of students’ bodies demanding justice for Rohith, held a meeting in the campus to mark the ‘shahaadat din’ (martyrdom day).
Rohith Vemula, 26-year-old PhD student, committed suicide on January 17 in the year 2016. Rohith’s suicide had triggered protests across India as an alleged case of caste-based discrimination. In August 2015, Rohith Vemula and four other ASA-activists had demonstrated against death penalty for Yakub Memon. ABVP had submitted a report to the then Union Human Resource Minister Smriti Irani that Rohith Vemula and five ASA-activists had been indulging in anti-national activities. Following which, Rohith Vemula and the ASA-activists were suspended and barred from their hostels. After the confirmation of the suspension, Rohith Vemula committed suicide.