Student sets self ablaze in principal's room in Ramanthapur

HYDERABAD: In a shocking incident, a student of Ramanthapur branch of Narayana College set himself ablaze inside the principal's room on Friday. Three persons – the student, the principal and another staffer – suffered burn injuries in the incident.

The student, identified as Narayana Swamy and owing allegiance to the ABVP, resorted to this extreme step allegedly vexed with the college management's refusal to issue a transfer certificate to him. All the three had been rushed to a hospital for treatment.

According to reports, Narayana Swamy barged into the principal's room before pouring petrol and setting himself on fire in an apparent suicide bid. Shocked by Narayana Swamy's extreme step, Principal Sudhakar Reddy and AO Ashok Reddy frantically came to his rescue. In the process of putting out the fire, the two also sustained serious burns. An unconfirmed report also claimed that Narayana Swamy held the principal in a tight embrace after setting himself ablaze.

Other staff members reportedly rushed into the room and put out the fire. The three, with serious burn injuries, were later shifted to a hospital in a 108 ambulance.

College to file criminal charges

Reacting to the incident, the Narayana Group, in a statement, said: "An unfortunate incident of arson has occurred at the Narayana College Campus in Ramanthapur. Our Principal and another staff member have suffered multiple burn injuries as a consequence. We take the safety of our students and staff very seriously. We have a zero-tolerance policy against such dangerous behaviour on our campuses. We are consulting with our legal team and are preparing to file criminal charges against those responsible for this heinous incident."