Oppn attacks govt over JNU suicide
silence, sought daily updates from her ministry amid his busy election campaign, Swaraj said.
“In all three cases (of attacks on Indians in US), the government has given all possible helps to the family of the victims. The government took up the issues at high level of the US administration. We have expressed our concern over such incidents and asked for speedy investigation,” she said.
“These are stray incidents and they don’t reflect the sentiments of entire America towards Indians,” Swaraj said in her first remarks on the attacks.
Thirty-two-year-old Kuchibhotla and his colleague Alok Madasani, both employees at GPS maker Garmin, were shot by a former US soldier, who mistook them for Middle-easterners.
Since then, a Sikh man had been shot and wounded in his driveway in Kent by a white man in a mask, who shouted “go back to your country”. Later, a video of Indian families at a public park in Ohio surfaced, apparently filmed by an anti-immigrant zealot who could barely conceal his distaste for Indians.
The spate of attacks has left the three-million-strong Indian American community worried and many say they are concerned about rising anti-immigrant feelings in the country.
Opposition members in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday sought a probe into the suspected suicide of a Dalit research scholar at the JNU and alleged “caste discrimination” there.
Responding to the members’ concerns, parliamentary affairs Minister Ananth Kumar assured the House of “suitable action” and said the entire House shared the grief over the death of Muthukrishnan, an M Phil student at JNU’s Centre for Historical Studies.
“It is very shocking. He had written a Facebook post criticising the Dalit policy of the JNU. He had recorded incidents of discrimination. His father has sought a CBI enquiry. It is a very serious incident,” K Suresh (Congress) said.
An AIADMK member alleged caste discrimination and bias against students from south India and sought an HRD ministry probe.
These members recalled the suspected suicide of another Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula in the University of Hyderabad last year. Muthukrishnan knew Vemula and had joined the protests
SWARAJ ALSO REBUFFED CHARGES BY CONGRESS LEADER MALLIKARJUN KHARGE AND CPI(M)’S MD SALIM OF INACTION
following his death.
Delhi Police on Wednesday registered a case of abetment to suicide and also under the SC/ST prevention of atrocities act against unknown persons to probe the death.
While the police suspected that Muthukrishnan may have been under depression due to which he allegedly committed suicide, his father Jeevanantham alleged foul play and demanded a CBI probe.
On Tuesday, he filed a police complaint alleging that his son was facing harassment in JNU because of his caste and a thorough investigation must be conducted into his death . Jeevanantham said his son was not under any medication for depression.