Protests continue over Dalit student's suicide in Indian university

Protests continued for the second straight day Tuesday at a university in southern India over the death of a Dalit student pursuing PhD.

Rohith Vemula killed himself on Sunday inside Hyderabad Central University and his body was found hanging from ceiling of a friend's hostel room.

Vemula's friends and fellow students blamed federal minister of India's Bhartiya Janta Party Bandaru Dattatreya and university vice-chancellor Appa Rao for his death.

The protests were organized by student unions and several political parties seeking stern action against Dattatreya and university officials.

On Monday Indian police registered a case against Dattatreya and three others including the university's vice-chancellor with abetment to suicide.

Students alleged that Dattatreya orchestrated the suspension of Vemula and four other Dalit students, barring them from using some facilities at the university by writing a letter to the federal ministry of human resource and development complaining about the Dalit students including Vemula.

The five had been living in a tent outside the gate of the university since their suspension on Dec. 21.

Vemula had been a member of a group representing Dalits, the lowest caste in India's Hindu caste hierarchy.

On Tuesday the university vice-chancellor described Vemula as "bright student" and said they were saddened by the tragic incident.

"Let us all join together in sharing the grief with his family members. We also have to note and learn the ways and means to avoid such incidents in our campus. Let us pledge to give our time and thought processes to prevent recurrence of such incidents that disturb the peace of the campus," the vice-chancellor in his written appeal said.

Dattareya told reporters that neither he nor his party was in anyway connected with the suicide of the Dalit scholar.

Congress party vice-president Rahul Gandhi visited the university on Tuesday to interact with protesting students.

Reports said several political parties including the Dalit-led Bahujan Samaj Party have sent their representatives to the university to express solidarity with the protesting students.

Meanwhile, New Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday described the suicide of Dalit student as "murder of democracy" and demanded apology from Indian Prime Minister.

"It's not suicide. It's murder. It's murder of democracy, social justice and equality. (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji should sack ministers and apologize to the nation," Kejriwal wrote on twitter. "Modi government constitutionally duty bound to uplift Dalits. Instead Modi ji's ministers got five Dalit students ostracized and suspended."

The federal government on Monday said a "fact-finding team" has been sent to Hyderabad to probe the scholar's death.

Students staged protests in New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad in solidarity with their counterparts in Hyderabad university. Endit