District Collector Kantilal Dande said on Tuesday a comprehensive inquiry would be held to determine the community status of research scholar Rohith Vemula, who committed suicide on the University of Hyderabad campus on January 17.
The University Grants Commission too has sought a report from the Tahsildar, Guntur, on the issue.
“We have sent a report to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) based on the available documentary evidence with Tahsildar, Guntur, but since there are rival and conflicting claims, the Revenue Department will begin a thorough caste inquiry into the issue,’’ the Collector told The Hindu on Tuesday.
In the report sent to the NCSC, the Collector said Rohith Chakravarthy Vemula belongs to Hindu Mala caste, classified as Scheduled Caste in Andhra Pradesh and his family comes under Below Poverty Line.
The Collector also said statements from the grandmother of Vemula and his family members were enclosed. The NCSC is yet to ratify this report.
Community certificates
The community certificates of Vemula were issued in 2005 and 2014 stating that he belonged to SC Hindu (Mala).
The tumultuous events and uproar on campuses across the country following the death of Vemula included claims by his estranged father and grandfather that he belonged to Vaddera (BC) community. The Cyberabad police have already filed cases under Prevention of SC/ST Atrocities Act against five persons, including Vice- Chancellor P. Appa Rao and Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya.
Community certificates are issued as per provisions laid in the A.P. (Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes) Regulation of Issue of Community Certificates Act, 1993.
If anyone claims that the persons used fraudulent means to get community certificates, a scrutiny committee headed by Joint Collector will hear the arguments in a magisterial court after giving notices to both the parties. Either of the party may approach judicial court, if they are not satisfied with the JC’s court order.
