KAKINADA: Two former students of the University of Hyderabad, who allegedly hatched a plan to murder the varsity’s vice-chancellor Podile Appa Rao, was arrested by the East Godavari district police on Friday evening. The duo- Ankala Prudhviraj and Chandan Kumar Misra - were reportedly arrested from Pitchkalapadu Junction on Bhadrachalam-Cherla Road in Telangana. V-C Appa Rao was not available for comment. Disclosing details to media on Saturday, East Godavari district Superintendent of Police Vishal Gunni said both the accused were intercepted while they were on their way to kill Appa Rao on the directions of CPI (Maoist) leaders Hari Bhushan alias Yapa Narayan and Pulluri Prasad Rao alias Chandranna.
Police teams led by Yatapaka OSD KKN Anburajan and additional SP Y Ravi Shanak Reddy nabbed the duo after a tip-off. According to SP Gunni, the accused met Hari Bhushan in January and xpressed their interest to become Maoists after the suicide of Vemula Rohit, a research scholar at the university. The two allegedly told police they thought murdering the V-C would pave the way for more students joining the Maoist party.Hari Bhushan assured them of all help to plan the murder and directed them to drop off Maoist literature on the campus after killing the V-C. Chandan Mishra was promised a better position in the banned party if he eliminated Appa Rao, the SP said.
Prudhviraj, who hails from Kesarapalli village in Gannavaram mandal of Krishna district completed LLB from Siddhartha Law College in Vijayawada. In 2010, he signed up for a course in Hyderabad Central University. In 2013, he met CPI (Maoist) Cherla Dalam commander Sukhadev and participated in the group’s meeting for two months in Telangana.
He rushed home after Pulluri Prasad Rao alias Chandranna of Chandranna Dalam informed him that his wife was ill and was arrested while taking her to Khammam for treatment. He decided to formally join the banned party after he was released from jail. Chandan Mishra, a native of Howrah in West Bengal completed BA (Political Science) from Scottish Church College and joined the University of Hyderabad for a postgraduate course in 2013. He got acquainted with Prudhviraj in 2016.
Students inspired by Maoist ideology
Prudhviraj joined the University of Hyderabad in 2010 and left in 2013 after he was inspired by the Maoist ideology. Chandan Mishra also studied MA political science in the university and both of them were classmates for a brief period.