Police Disrupts Candle Light Vigil For Rohith Vemula

By Countercurrents.org

25 February, 2016
Countercurrents.org

Rohith Vemula's mother and more than 100 students from Hyderabad Central University were detained by the Delhi Police while holding a candle light vigil at India Gate in memory of Rohith. Police even dragged Rohith Vemula's mother. While being detained in Tilak Marg and Parliament Street Police Station they held a candle light vigil inside the police station. Later, the agitators were released by the police. Arundhati B one of the participant in the vigil said in a facebook post "We had no weapons other than candles. They fear light. The call for the candle light vigil was given by the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice.

Thousands of students marched through the streets of Delhi on 23rd February demanding justice for Rohith Vemula who committed suicide inside University of Hyderabad hostel room on January 17 after being targeted by the university and the right wing sangh parivar.

Thousands of students, including those from the Jawaharlal Nehru University joined the protest march organised under the banner of Joint Action Committee for Social Justice of University of Hyderabad from Ambedkar Bhawan to Jantar Mantar.

The main demands of the students are:

– Enact “Rohith Act” against the caste discrimination in education spaces.
– Punish the culprits (SmritiIrani, BandaruDattatrya, Appa Rao, Ramchandra Rao, Alok Pandey and Susheel Kumar).
– Remove Appa Rao from post of Vice Chancellor.
– Employ a family member of Rohith in the university.
– Pay a minimum compensation of 50 lakhs.
– Drop the false police cases against the five research scholars.
– Appoint a special public prosecutor in the concerned case of Rohith.
– Constitute a judicial inquiry (non-MHRD members) into all cases of discrimination and harassment of Dalit, Adivasi, OBC, Religious Minority students in all higher educational institutions.
– Implement Affirmative action policies in all higher education institutions, irrespective of the management of the colleges.

Even though the 'Justice for Rohith Vemula' campaign has reached the national capital, the police have not yet arrested or even questioned any of the four persons named as accused in the case abetting the suicide of Rohith Vemula. The accused are moving across the country freely.