Vemula declared nondalit on just 2 of 7 testimonies

Kin say probe declaring Rohith an OBC was done under pressure from AP govt

Radhika was married to Mani Kumar, a Vaddera, at a young age. She raised Rohith and her other two children alone after separating from her husband.

The new commission, however, went by what Rohith’s estranged father and paternal grandmother said. Though the duo claimed Rohith belonged to them and was, therefore, from their Vaddera caste. They did not contradict that Radhika was a Dalit. An inquiry conducted by Kantilal Dande, the deputy collector of Guntur, in the first week of June had found Rohith to be a Dalit. The state government set aside the findings of Dande and ordered a fresh inquiry without citing reasons for reopening the probe into Rohith’s caste.

The fresh probe prompted new accusations from Rohith’s family and friends who alleged that the authorities were attempting to rewrite facts for being simply unhappy with Dande’s report.“a common legal principle requires that a fresh investigation can be ordered when there is a change in circumstances or when a gamechanging fact emerges. There was no such reason this time,” alleged advocate Bhimrao.

Following the new report, Dande has changed his stand.

He claimed his inquiry was conducted by a subordinate officer and that the “media has no authority to question a government officer or order”. He said the primary school, where Radhika studied briefly before dropping out had recorded Anjani Devi as Radhika’s mother. “That is enough proof,” Dande added.