Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], June 20 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader N. Ramchander Rao on Wednesday alleged that the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) gave Rs. 15 lakh to the family of deceased Hyderabad Central University student Rohith Vemula on a condition that his brother should be converted to Islam religion.

"We received the information that the IUML had given Rs 15 lakh to Rohith Vemula's family and on those terms, his brother was to be converted into Islam," Rao told ANI.

Earlier today, BJP leader Piyush Goyal, while addressing a press conference, alleged that the IUML had offered Rohith's mother a sum of Rs 20 Lakh to malign the image of the BJP.

"IUML made fake promises to provide them (Rohith Vemula's family) Rs 20 lakh and asked them to address their rallies and misrepresent the unfortunate incident and then not completed that promise. This is condemnable," Goyal said.

However, Rohith's mother refuted the BJP's allegations and clarified that even though "it's true that the IUML promised to provide me with money, but they haven't used me for political gains."

Rohith, a Dalit PhD scholar at the Hyderabad Central University, was found hanging from a ceiling fan in a hostel room on January 17, 2016. (ANI)