Vemula suicide sparks protest in state

Tribune News Service

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Sirsa, January 20

The suicide by Dalit research scholar, Rohith Vemula, in Hyderabad has sparked protests in the state. Protesters belonging to the Ambedkar Students Front of India (DASFI) burnt PM Narender Modi’s effigy and raised slogans against the government here today. Members of the Dalit Adhikar Manch have announced four-day statewide protest beginning tomorrow.

Demanding dismissal of Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya from the cabinet, activists of the DASFI have also sought the arrest of Hyderabad Central University, Vice-Chancellor, Appa Rao.

In a memorandum addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee, the DASFI has sought probe into the role of Union Ministry of Human Resources. It said the circumstances in which the incident took place suggested murder rather than suicide.

The Dalit Adhikar Manch has demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh and a job for a member of the deceased’s family.