Maoists plan to kill Univ of Hyd Vice-Chancellor- foiled by police

Hyderabad, March 31: The Andhra Pradesh police on Saturday claimed to have foiled an alleged attempt by the Maoists to kill University of Hyderabad Vice-Chancellor Podile Appa Rao to avenge the death of Dalit student Rohith Vemula two years ago.

Police in East Godavari district of neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on Friday arrested two former students of the university - Ankala Prudvi Raj, 27, and Chandan Kumar Mishra, 28, from Pichukalapadu junction on Bhadrachalam-Charla Road late on Friday, a police officer said on Saturday.

According to police, they were allegedly deployed by the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist to eliminate the Vice Chancellor to avenge the death of research scholar Vemula.

The Dalit student had committed suicide in his hostel room on the campus on January 17, 2016 in protest against the discrimination of Dalits. The incident triggered massive protest by the students, who blamed the Vice Chancellor along with two central ministers for the suicide. The incident had also sparked nation-wide uproar.