London: A 28-year-old Indian student from Hyderabad was attacked in London. Praveen Reddy, an MBA student in London School of Business Management, was admitted to Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel with multiple stab wounds on Friday and is in a critical state reportedly. According to the police, Praveen was stabbed several times.
Praveen, who is enrolled at London Business School, moved to Newham just two months ago and his family in Hyderabad does not know who his new roommates are. They suspect that Praveen was attacked in a tiff with his friends after a birthday party. "Praveen telephoned us at 9.45am (IST) on Friday and told us he wanted Rs 50,000," his brother Jaya Shankar Reddy told TOI.
"A little later, when we called him , he did not respond. We suspect that minutes after Praveen spoke to us, he was stabbed and pushed from the third floor of his apartment." Jaya Shankar said residents saw Praveen in a pool of blood and took him to hospital.
Praveen's father, Sudhakar Reddy, a businessman in Hyderabad, has appealed to the Indian government for an urgent visa to travel to London. External affairs minister SM Krishna has spoken to Praveen's father and ensured all possible help from the government in getting a visa.
"London Police told us this morning that our son was stabbed and thrown out from the window of the three-storied building," Mr Reddy said.
"Police told us that they have admitted Praveen in a hospital and that his condition is serious," he said.
"I want to visit my son with family members and hence request the government through the media to help us in getting visa at the earliest," he said.
"Praveen spoke to me and his mother yesterday. He was supposed to come down to Hyderabad on February 17 to attend a marriage," Mr Reddy added.
External affairs minister S M Krishna spoke to Praveen's father, Sudhakar Reddy, and assured him help in facilitating visas. The attack is the third such assault on Indians in the UK since December last year.
Praveen stays in an apartment in London's New Hampshire area.
This is the fourth attack on Indians in the last two months. The three incidents before this were fatal.
In the earlier incidents, 23-year-old Anuj Bidve was shot dead in Greater Manchester in Salford on December 26. The UK Police also confirmed on January 10, the death of 20-year-old student Gurdeep Hayer in Manchester city centre. This was followed by the murder of Avatar Singh Kolar, 62, and his British wife Carole Kolar, 58, in Birmingham on January 11.
Ashok Reddy, Dheeraj’s father, urged the state government to help track his son. Dheeraj is from Bodhan in Nizamabad district and currently enrolled in the BTH University of Sweden. According to his friends, Dheeraj last attended a class at the university on January 26. They filed a complaint two days later.