It was later revealed that Rohith’s father Mani Kumar was a Vaddera, and his mother was a Mala. However, Mani Kumar was an alcoholic who deserted the family once he realised that Radhika was a Dalit, the family claimed. Therefore, Rohith, who never knew his father, claimed his mother's caste, and grew up as a Mala.

Speaking at the gates of UoH on Rohith's death anniversary in January this year, Radhika had narrated her version of incidents that took place at the Guntur Collector's office.

She had alleged that the officials were bent on taking Mani Kumar's side and insistent to prove that Rohith was not a Dalit.

When details of the report had surfaced earlier, students who were suspended with Rohith, in a statement, had argued that the Roopanwal Commission overstepped its mandate by going into Rohith’s caste, noting that only the district magistrate is the appropriate authority to inquire into his caste.

They pointed out that the magistrate had ruled that Rohith was a Dalit and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes had affirmed his stand.

The opposition parties and activists also slammed the probe panel’s report.

Academic scholar and Dalit rights activist Kancha Ilaiah alleged that the report has been written to present the government's version of the story.

"What surprises me is that what the then HRD minister Smriti Irani had said about Vemula's death is what forms the content of the report.”

"We would have taken it more seriously if Irani would have then said that 'look we do not know what happened and we are constituting an enquiry to know about it'," Ilaiah told reporters, adding "What the minister wanted to say is all that has been written in the report".

The student body of Jawaharlal Nehru University, JNUSU, refused to trust the findings of the Commission.

"It's not just Hyderabad University, but in all the central universities that the Centre is engaging in manipulatory tactics. The report's findings are stupid in that its outcome was predecided," Amal PP, Vice President, JNUSU said.