Rahul holds Indian Government 'responsible' for Vemula's 'murder'

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said Hyderabad University scholar Rohith Vemula's death was not a suicide, and that the Indian Government was responsible for his 'murder'.

While addressing the Dalit Swabhiman Sabha here, the Congress leader said, "Rohith Vemula did not commit suicide, rather he was murdered by the Government of India".

He added, "A letter came from a minister and he was crushed to the ground."

Vemula, a research scholar at the Hyderabad Central University, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in a hostel room on January 17, 2016.

He was allegedly upset over disciplinary action taken against him by the university.

His suicide had triggered a huge political furore with the then HRD Minister, Smriti Irani, coming under attack along with Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya for having written a letter related to the matter.