Union Human Resources Development Minister Smriti Irani’s sensational statement in Parliament that Rohith Vemula could have been revived has been challenged by the doctor who examined the dead body of the Hyderabad Central University student.
Irani said on Wednesday in Parliament that the Telengana Police had told the state High Court that no doctor was allowed near Vemula’s body until 6.30 am the next morning.
"This is how politics was played on this child and his dead body. Nobody allowed a doctor near him. The police has reported... Not one attempt was made to revive this child. Instead his body was used as a political tool," Irani had said.
The doctor says she had reached moments after a call was made at 7:30pm the same evening when Rohith was found dead.
"Around 7.30 pm I got a call from the hostel. I reached within 4 minutes. The body was already put on the cot. I examined for pulse and BP, despite knowing he is probably dead. There was no pulse or BP. His body was cold, stiff and rigid. His tongue was protruding and rigor mortis had set in," the doctor told NDTV.
Hours after Irani’s statement, a student named Zikrullah Nisha posted a video on his facebook page and wrote that he was the first person to call for a doctor upon learning about Vemula's suicide and that the Chief Medical Officer of the university reached the spot within five minutes.
“Dr Rajashree P reached the spot and she checked the pulse and declared him dead. Telengana police was also present there,” he wrote and posted a video of the doctor examining Vemula’s dead body.
Rohith Vemula was found hanging in a hostel room on the Hyderabad Central University campus on January 17. Vemula's suicide sparked off protests across the country with the opposition parties accusing the central government of being anti-dalit.
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