IIIT Student Stabs Prof Over Lab Exam Denial
The accused was MV Purushottam, aged 23. The professor was SSSV Gopala Raj, who has been admitted to a hospital with injuries. It is learnt that the student got provoked as he was not allowed to attend the Lab exams due to lack of requisite attendance.
KAKINADA: A first-year M.Tech student of IIIT at Nuzvid in Eluru district attacked his Civil Engineering professor and later some students with two knives on Monday.
The accused was MV Purushottam, aged 23. The professor was SSSV Gopala Raj, who has been admitted to a hospital with injuries. It is learnt that the student got provoked as he was not allowed to attend the Lab exams due to lack of requisite attendance.
Purushottam, a bright student, had qualified in first semester exams but failed in the second. On Monday, when he came to the Lab examination hall on the campus, the professor and the invigilator, Gopal Raj, did not allow him in, citing the attendance shortage.
Police said a major attack was averted as the professor blocked the assailant’s hand during the attack. Some students intervened and finally immobilized him.
Nuzvid DSP Prasad told Deccan Chronicle that accused Purushottam hailed from Vontigudem village of Kothavalasa mandal in Vizianagaram district.
“The professor advised Purushottam to go and get a permission letter from the head of the department to write the exam. The HoD refused to give the nod. The student came back to the examination hall and informed the professor about this. Gopala Raj again advised him to contact the dean of the Institute. The student did not attempt this and waited there for some time. Suddenly, he picked up a knife from his pocket and attacked the professor,” police said, quoting eyewitnesses.
Some 13 students were attending the lab exam. Some of these students rushed out, caught the student and tied him with ropes. Before this, however, the student picked up another knife from his second pocket and attacked the professor again.
“Security guards came to the spot and handed over the assailant to campus outpost police, who then handed him over to Nuzvid Town police,” the DSP said, adding that an attempt-to-murder case has been registered against the student by the Nuzvid town police.
The director of IIIT Nuzvid campus, Dr Amarendra Kumar, told the Deccan Chronicle that there were 14 students in the M.Tech civil engineering course. Purushottam was the first ranker in the campus admissions. Purushottam is a brilliant student and he is also preparing for competitive examinations with hard work, sleeping late at night. However, he is not attending classes regularly. I and Gopala Raj have had counseled him and made it clear to him that attendance of 75 per cent is important, else he would not be eligible for fees-reimbursement and other government incentives. However, he is not attending classes.”
He added, “There is a procedure in the institute that if a student did not have the requisite attendance, he should get permission from his class head,
head of the department, dean and director respectively. But, on Monday, the student took the extreme step without having patience.”
Speaking about action against the student from the institute, Amarendra Kumar said, “Once the interrogation of the police is over, we would discuss the matters and take a decision.”
Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh state council of higher education, Madhu Murthy, rushed to the hospital, consoled Gopala Raj and inquired about the incident from him.