Hyderabad, Jan. 23: The Dalit students who had gone on an indefinite hunger strike at the University of Hyderabad were today shifted to a campus health centre as the standoff between students and authorities since Rohith Vemula's suicide entered its fourth day.

The day also saw Rohith's family question the controversy over the dead student's Dalit origins, with his mother Vemula Radhika releasing a statement that said she was born a Scheduled Caste.

Rohith's father Mani Kumar had surfaced yesterday at the campus and said that the PhD scholar was from a backward caste.

Around noon, one of the fasting research scholars, identified only as Ms Vaikhari, was shifted to the health centre after her blood pressure and pulse rate dropped drastically, according to a university health bulletin.

Security personnel on the varsity campus had tried to take all the students to the health centre but succeeded in shifting only Vaikhari initially.

However, later in the evening, all the others were shifted to the centre.

Rohith's mother Radhika released a statement on the campus stating that it was a fact that her husband Mani Kumar belonged to the Vaddera backward caste community. "I was born a Mala (SC).... I got married to Mani Kumar in 1985. And I bore (him) three children," she said, adding that she and her husband separated after the birth of the third child.

"After that I shifted to an SC locality. I saw to it that my children were brought up as per SC traditions and culture," she said but wanted to know why the question of Rohith's Dalit origins was coming up now.

A BJP leader had claimed that Rohith was only "half a Dalit" because his father was from a backward caste- Vaddera - and his mother from a Scheduled Caste.

Rohith's younger brother Raja Chaitanya said they had opted for their mother's caste as their father never stayed with them. "He was not there for us when we needed him," he added.Rohithhad committed suicide five days ago, triggering a controversy that brought to light a Union minister's letter that had described as anti-national the activities of a Dalit students' organisation the research scholar was associated with.

HRD minister Smriti Irani's ministry had forwarded to the university a letterfrom Union labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya that accused the Ambedkar Students Association of "anti-national politics" and of attacking Susheel Kumar, a leader of RSS student wing ABVP, in August. It then sent four reminders, one every fortnight.

The joint action committee of students, who have been demanding a fair compensation for Rohith's family, the removal of vice-chancellor Appa RaoPodile and action against the Union ministers, today accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "appropriating Rohith's politics" in a statement.

In Lucknow yesterday, while addressing the convocation of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Modi had suggested that Rohith was driven to death and said "Maa Bharati has lost a son" but skirted the contentious circumstances that led to the suicide.

Dalit activist and writer Kancha Ilaiah today attacked the BJP leadership for questioning Rohith's caste. "Rohith's father's profile has been concocted by official sources. Even Rohith did not mention about his father in the suicide note (it mentioned only his mother and sister). Dalit forums of both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana should fight the political conspiracy to eliminate the Dalit voice," Ilaiah said.

T.N. Seena, a member of the University Court, the proctorial board, today wrote to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking his intervention.