Ex-Hyderabad University students held for conspiring to kill VC

Two former students of the Hyderabad University were arrested by the East Godavari Police on Friday for allegedly conspiring to kill the varsity's vice-chancellor, V Appa Rao.

The duo, who has been identified as Ankala Prudhviraj and Chandan Misra, hatched a plot to avenge Rohith Vemula's suicide. They were arrested from Pitchukulapadu Junction on Bhadrachalam-Cherla Road.

Both Ankala Prudviraj (27) and Chandan Kumar Mishra (28) were attracted towards Leftist ideologies. They later decided to join the Maoists due to some incidents at the university.

"In January 2018, they met Haribhushan in a forest area between Cherla and Venkatapuram with the help of a Maoist courier. Haribhushan explained the party's principles, ideology and asked them to try for maximum student recruitment from the university," read an official statement.

"During the discussion, Rohith Vemula's suicide and the repercussions of the incident were also discussed and they decided that if Appa Rao was killed in the name of the Maoist party, many students would join the party," it added.

Haribhushan promised Chandan Kumar Mishra a better cadre in Maoist party after the assassination of vice chancellor.

Rohith Vemula had committed suicide in a hostel room after being expelled from the hostel by authorities in 2016.