My son was murdered: Rohith Vemula's father

Hyderabad: Adding a new twist to the story of Rohith Vemula, the Dalit research scholar who had recently committed suicide at Hyderabad Central University campus, his father has alleged that his son might have been murdered and a case of suicide made out of it.

According to a report published in 'Times of India', Manikumar Vemula, the father of the PhD scholar, alleged that that his son's death was homicide and demanded a judicial inquiry.

While addressing reporters on Tuesday, Manikumar also tried to implicate Ambedkar Students Association (ASA), a group which Rohith was associated with, in connection with his son's death.

He also alleged that the suicide note was not written by Rohith.

Dismissing all reports suggesting the caste of Rohith, he said his son didn't belonged to the Scheduled Caste category, but hailed from the Vaddera community of backward classes.

Manikumar's statement on caste status is likely to spark a fresh controversy as his estranged wife Radhika recently claimed that she belongs to the Scheduled Caste but was adopted by a family from Vaddera, a backward class community.

Rohith was one of the five Dalit research scholars suspended by the university last year after they allegedly attacked a leader of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarathi Parishad (ABVP).

He committed suicide on January 17, sparking public outrage over the injustice meted out to Dalit students.