New Delhi: The Modi government has decided to set up a judicial commission headed by a retired high court judge, to probe the chain of events leading to the death of Rohith Vemula, the University of Hyderabad (UoH) research scholar, while also spelling out a protocol to sensitise university administrators about problems faced by socially, educationally and economically disadvantaged students.
The decisions came barely two days after HRD minister Smriti Irani said Rohith Vemula's suicide shouldn't be made out to be a “Dalit vs non-Dalit” issue and hours after a two-member fact-finding team of the ministry submitted its report. In fact, HRD ministry's statement talks of evolving better mechanism to address problems of disadvantaged sections. Sources said the change in the ministry's stand comes in the wake of reservations expressed by a few allies like Ram Vilas Paswan and even some within BJP that the incident could have been handled more sensitively.
Just before announcement of the judicial commission which is to submit its report in three months, Irani spoke to Rohith's mother and offered her condolences. The judicial panel will review the entire sequence of events and the circumstances leading to his suicide. The panel, to be notified after the local body and assembly by-election, will either be headed by a retired chief justice or judge of a high court. It will also establish the facts and correctives in the context of the university.
Though the two-member fact-finding team has not blamed VC Appa Rao Podile directly, he was asked to go on indefinite leave amid protests by student groups demanding his resignation.
Pressure was mounting on Appa Rao after a probe conducted by the Union HRD ministry found flaws in the way the five Dalit students were suspended from the hostel by the university and forced to sleep in the open.
“After seeking suggestions from the staff, I decided to go on indefinite leave. The duration of my leave is uncertain as of now. However, I hope the tension on campus melts down soon,” Rao, who had taken over as V-C in September last year, said.
