Rohith Vemula’s family said Roopanwala Commission report insulted the 26-year-old research scholar who was a brilliant young mind. “The Commission which failed to penalise culprits behind the research scholar’s death should not have painted Rohith in a bad light,” the family members alleged.
Raja Vemula the younger brother of Rohith said, “My brother was not a frustrated person. He was a bright student who lost his life after he was singled out and persecuted because of his caste identity. How can an inquiry commission deny all the struggles he went through in that educational institution”. Raja pointed out that Rohith’s demise had changed the lives of both him and his mother. “My mother has suffered enough insults at the hands of authorities. This ordeal has to stop,” Raja said. The family has been maintaining that Rohith and his two siblings were brought up by their mother Radhika Vemula, a Mala (Dalit) woman.
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The family which was living in Hyderabad during the time of Rohith’s death has moved back to Guntur. Raja Vemula who had completed his post-graduate degree had turned an autorickshaw driver to make a living. The family has not accepted the ex-gratia of ₹8 lakh offered by University of Hyderabad. The surviving son and mother have also refused employment offers from parties including Aam Aadmi Party.
Along with the family, students leaders of University of Hyderabad condemned the report. “The commission has no jurisdiction over determining Rohith Vemula’s caste. The fact that the commission strayed from its original terms of reference itself makes its report biased. When those who pushed Rohith to death were given a clean chit, the report maligned his own family and friends,” said Dontha Prashant, a student leader of Ambedkar Students Association who was expelled with Rohith. ASA had earlier issued a statement saying, the commission deliberately exonerated all the accused in the case because of political leaning.