Hyderabad varsity vice chancellor goes on leave

Duties of Appa Rao will be taken over by Vipin Shrivastava, who is now heading the executive committee.

“The Vice-Chancellor will be on leave”.

The students, however, continued their protest demanding the vice-chancellor’s ouster. On present situation on the varsity campus where students have launched an indefinite relay hunger strike seeking the removal of Podile and Rs 50 lakh compensation to Rohit’s family, Srivastava said, “Through discussions we will sort out all the issues”.

Speaking to reporters on the campus immediately after assuming charge as in-charge vice-chancellor, Srivatsava announced that he would meet the protesting students on Monday for talks but the students turned down his offer. We want to resolve the issue now, ” he asserted. On Thursday, the University had “terminated the punishment” on Rohith’s four friends. Asked whether he would take charge once normalcy returns, he replied in the positive.

But his temporary replacement became another red rag for students who have been agitating through a hunger strike over the death of research scholar Rohith Vemula a week ago.

They alleged that Srivastava was one of the “accused” in the suicide of another Dalit student, Senthil, in 2008. He was under fire for his handling of the issue relating to the suspension of five Dalit students, one of whom, Rohith Vemula, committed suicide on January 17.

The JAC has called for a “Chalo Central University of Hyderabad” tomorrow when students from various universities are expected to reach the campus to join the agitation.

Although the preliminary findings of the University had rejected the complaints made by ABVP activist N Susheel Kumar, the University chose to suspend the 5 accused Dalit students allegedly under pressure of Ministry of HRD.

On January 18, Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, Podile, BJP MLC Ramachandra Rao and two others were named in an FIR on charges of abetment of suicide and and under relevant sections of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.