HYDERABAD: Rohit Vemula's brother Raja Vemula questioned authority of one-man commission headed by Allahabad High Court Judge (Retd) Ashok K Roopanwal to decide on their caste, "while the objective of forming the commission was to bring out reason's for death of Rohit."
Reports of the one-man commission reportedly states that Rohit's mother Radhika Vemula had labeled herself as "Mala" so as to support caste certificate issued to her son. The report was submitted in the month of August. The commission, which was formed by Ministry of Human Resource Development after 11 days of Rohit's Death, also reportedly stated that personal reasons were reasons for Rohit to the extreme step of hanging himself.
"Who is he to decide on our caste. National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) gave a report that we belong to SCs, it is final. All this is done to waste time, assuming people will forget and to rescue whoever are accused under SC/ST Atrocities Case, accused for Rohit's suicide. Reasons for Rohit's death should be brought out," Raja Vemula said here today.
He added that they are not going to consider the opinion on caste given by the commission. According to him, the NCSC in a record dated June 22, stated that Rohit Chakravarthy Vemula belongs to Hindu-Mala caste.
"The report of Guntur district collector, received by the NCSC, states that as per the available documentary evidence, Rohith Chakravarthy Vemula belongs to Hindu-Mala caste which is classified as Scheduled Caste in Andhra Pradesh and his family comes under the below poverty line category," read an observation in a document titled 'Record of findings of the Commission in the case of suicide of SC Scholar Rohith Vemula at the University of Hyderabad.'