Journalist booked for covering Rohith Vemula anniversary protest

Cyberabad Police has booked a journalist for allegedly 'unauthorisedly' entering into the University of Hyderabad campus on the first death anniversary of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula.

The journalist Kunal S, working with an English magazine, was booked on charge of trespass and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code following a complaint by the varsity security officials, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Madhapur Zone) P Vishwa Prasad said.

The complainant accused Kunal of clandestinely sneaking into the varsity and covering an event (protest) by a group of students in memory of first death anniversary of research scholar Rohith Vemula.

"We are investigating into the matter," the DCP said.

Kunal, however, said he went inside the campus on official duty i e for collecting information with regard to the protest after being invited by a university faculty member.

"I was accosted by UoH security personnel and later taken to Cyberabad Commissionerate by local police where an ACP rank officer questioned me for hours together before being let off," he said.

Kunal said he had entered the varsity after showing his ID card and that the varsity was 'falsely' claiming that he was not having visitor pass for entering the campus.

Image for representation only. Photograph: PTI Photo