Times of India: Hyderabad: Saturday,
March 18, 2017.
After much
dilly dallying, the Guntur district authorities have refused to give
information under the RTI Act to a query on Rohith Vemula's caste, saying it
would hurt the investigation into the issue.
Vemula, a
research scholar at the University of Hyderabad (UOH), committed suicide last
year, triggering nationwide outrage over discrimination against Dalits in
varsities. But the issue soon narrowed down to the question of Vemula's caste,
with those opposing the contention of students saying Vemula was not a Dalit.
The district authorities also came out with varying versions in the days that
followed.
An RTI
petition was moved way back on November 2 on this issue. In its reply on Feb
27, the Guntur district authorities said that the information could not be
shared as "it can impede the process of investigation." A
superintendent rank officer in the collectorate cited section 8 (1) (h) of the
RTI Act, which allows withholding of information which impedes the process of
investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders.
UOH vice
chancellor Appa Rao, Union minister of state Bandaru Dattatreya, BJP MLC
Ramchander Rao and ABVP leader Susheel Kumar have been charged with abetting
Vemula's suicide. If the charges are proved, they face imprisonment under the
SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.
The RTI posed
mainly three questions to the Guntur collectorate. The first was whether the
district revenue authority or office of collectorate submitted a report to the
Cyberabad police on Rohith's caste. "In case the report is already
submitted to the inquiry officer, furnish a copy of the report ," the
petition urged. The third query asked the reasons for the delay by the district
revenue authorities in submitting their report on the student's caste status.
The district
officials, in their reply, said these questions do not fall in the ambit of the
RTI Act. RTI activists are of the opinion that the superintendent has
misinterpreted the RTI Act. "How can section (1) (h) apply to questions on
whether a report was submitted or reasons in case a report was not submitted to
the investigating officer? This is just misinterpretation," said C J
Karira, a RTI activist.
Recently, a
notice was served by the district officials on Rohith's family seeking their
objections to their probe finding that placed the family in the Vaddera
community instead of a scheduled caste. Since then, there has been no progress
in the case.