HYDERABAD: A Telangana student who was his MBBS at Davao University in the Philippines was found dead in a canal on the university premises early on Sunday. The victim was identified as Gudur Manikanth Reddy, 21, of Bhoodan Pochampally mandal in Yadadri district.
His parents, who reside in Ramalingampally village, said they received a call from the college management about his death due to a head injury suffered in a fall. A second caller informed them that their son’s body was fished out from a canal near the hostel.
“I received a call from the college management at 5.30 am. A lady on the other side first confirmed my name and informed that my son Manikanth Reddy had died in an accident,” the student’s father Gudur Ram Reddy said.
Gudur Radha, the student’s mother, said that he had joined the college during the Covid-19 lockdown and was a second-year student.
After receiving the information, the victim’s parents met minister K.T. Rama Rao, who spoke to the Indian embassy in the Philippines and asked them to look into the incident. The university management informed the embassy that Manikanth Reddy had slipped into an open canal while getting down the steps adjacent to his hostel.
Meanwhile, Manikanth Reddy’s friends in the Philippines are coordinating with the Indian embassy to make arrangements to transport his mortal remains to his home town.
The student’s parents said that their son did not have any vices and was excellent in his studies, due to which they are suspecting foul play in his death. While some sources said that Manikanth Reddy skidded and fell off his bike due to heavy rains, there was no injury mark on his body.
“Gudur Radha and Gudur Ram Reddy are farmers. They had sent their son for MBBS during the lockdown period. We were told that it may take three to four days for the investigation to be completed and the victim’s body to arrive,” Pochampally sub-inspector A. Badya Naik said.
