Protests in city over suicide by Dalit scholar of Hyderabad Univ

Protests over alleged suicide by a Dalit research scholar in Hyderabad University continued in the national Capital on Tuesday with youth wings of various parties including AAP and Congress hitting the streets demanding resignation of Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya.

The protesters blamed “interference” in internal matters of the Hyderabad University by Irani and Dattatreya for the incident and called the student’s suicide an “institutional murder”. While protesters from Congress affiliated National Students Union of India (NSUI) marched to HRD ministry shouting slogans against the government, those from AAP’s Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) staged a demonstration at Jantar Mantar here.

They were joined by left-backed All India Students Association (AISA) and Students Federation of India (SFI).

“We are absolutely convinced that the HRD Ministry has directly interfered in the matter that has led to the suicide. There were five letters sent from the MHRD to the varsity seeking immediate action on the Dalit students following the letter to the MHRD by Bandaru Dattatreya. This is not a suicide but a case of institutional murder,” NSUI president Roji M John alleged. The protesters staged a demonstration outside Shastri Bhawan. 

AAP leaders Ashutosh and Dilip Pandey joined the CYSS protesters at Jantar Mantar. 

“The leaders consider them (Dalits) to be their enemies and anti-nationalists. We demand that Dattatreya should be arrested immediately and he should be ousted out of the Cabinet. “Smriti Irani has a suspicious role in this and her role should also be probed. An independent commission with the presence of Supreme Court judges should be set up to investigate the matter and submit its report,” Ashutosh said while addressing the gathering.

The AISA and SFI staged silent protests and conducted candlelight vigils at Jantar Mantar demanding that the ministers as well as the Vice-Chancellor be held accountable for the tragedy.