Hyderabad, Jan 21 (NDTV): The suspension of four Dalit students who were barred, along with Rohith Vemula, from accessing the library, cafe and hostel has been revoked, four days after Vemula hung himself on campus.

Vemula's suicide has caused political and public uproar, with students and the opposition alleging that he was a victim of caste discrimination. The government has denied this. Education Minister Smriti Irani attributed "malicious intent" and alleged "a misrepresentation of facts" while proclaiming Vemula's tragedy was not the end point of a caste battle.

Today's decision to cancel the suspension of Vemula's friends comes after 15 Dalit teachers resigned, accusing Irani of distorting the facts related to Vemula's death.

In August, Vemula, a 26-year-old research scholar, and four of his friends, all members of the Ambedkar Students Association at Hyderabad Central University, clashed with the ABVP, the student wing of the BJP. Susheel Kumar of the ABVP alleged that he had been assaulted and filed a police case against Vemula and the other lower caste students. A preliminary inquiry found no wrong doing by the members of the Ambedkar Students Association; a second investigation found the opposite, leading to the students being suspended.

Dalit teachers at the university say that Irani has incorrectly said that the second inquiry was headed by a Dalit teacher. They say their association was given token representation on the committee that studied the incident.

Students blame union minister Bandaru Dattatraya and Irani's ministry for pushing for action against Vemula and his friends. Dattatraya sent a letter seeking action against them, suggesting their activities were "anti-national"; Irani's department sent five reminders in six weeks to the university seeking a response to Dattatraya's complaint.