Fresh protests erupt at Hyderabad varsity

Hyderabad: Fresh protests erupted at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Saturday after security officials allegedly removed tents erected around dalit student Rohith Vemula’s memorial and the place where he had spent his last days before his suicide in January.
Joint Action Committee for Social Justice (JAC) members said the officials removed tents besides “dishonouring” Babasaheb Ambedkar’s banner at 2am. This comes days after UoH vice-chancellor Appa Rao Podile issued a notice on May 20 asking the JAC to remove unauthorised tents from the campus.
Angry students blocked the university’s main gate and shouted slogans against Podile amid heavy security. Later, the students tried to file a case against Podile and the security officials for curbing their right to hold democratic protests. They were told contents of their complaint would not allow registration of a case.
“A person (Podile) who has been known for copying and got selected after lobbying does not know the value of education and the importance of Ambedkar,” said Prashanth Dontha, a friend of Vemula, whose suicide had sparked protests against discrimination against dalits. “It is his casteist attitude that led to Rohith’s death.”
JAC members claimed protocol was not followed for removal of the tents and that security officials resorted to vandalism to forcefully remove banners, one of which had the Constitution’s Preamble.”Though students witnessed the security staff pulling down the tents, the security-in charge later claimed they knew nothing about the theft of the tent and the loot of JAC material, including Babasaheb’s banners and flexes,” said JAC member Arpita Jaya. “The vice chancellor has insulted our protest and struggle for Rohith by taking this step.” 

Source: The Time of India