They wanted more holidays. So they tried to kill a classmate

Two students of a residential school in Annamayya district of Andhra Pradesh were expelled after they allegedly tried to kill a fellow student in his sleep, hoping that they would get extra holidays ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi.

The incident has prompted a probe by the district education department. The incident occurred on the night of September 4, when the two students of a school in Annamayya tried to suffocate their roommate in the hostel dormitory, where about 15 students were asleep.

The victim woke up struggling to breathe as the duo tried to smother him and shouted, which woke up other students, who then sounded an alarm. The hostel in-charge and attendants rushed to rescue the student, who said that the duo had been pressing his throat.

The officials isolated the two accused students for the night, and the school principal sent them home the next day. According to P Reddy Basha, Kambhamvaripalle Mandal Education Officer, who conducted a probe and released the details on Wednesday, the two students thought that the school would declare longer holidays if the boy died ahead of the festival and tried to murder him.

The students said that two years ago, when a boy died in the school due to health complications, it was closed for two days. On Wednesday, the school issued Transfer Certificates (TCs) to the two students. The father of the victim lodged a police complaint at Kambhamvaripalle Police Station and demanded an investigation.

Inspector V Sivakumar said that statements of the school and hostel authorities have been recorded and that they will continue their investigation, while the parents of the two students have been told to keep them at home till further instructions.

The parents of the duo were counselled by police and told to keep an eye on them. Police are seeking legal opinion on the issue. MEO Basha said that as the remaining students in the school were frightened, and many expressed unwillingness to sleep in the same dormitory where the incident occurred, a team of Child Protection Services held a counselling and awareness session for them at the school.

Sreenivas Janyala is a Deputy Associate Editor at The Indian Express, where he serves as one of the most authoritative voices on the socio-political and economic landscape of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. With a career spanning over two decades in mainstream journalism, he provides deep-dive analysis and frontline reporting on the intricate dynamics of South Indian governance.

Expertise and Experience Regional Specialization: Based in Hyderabad, Sreenivas has spent more than 20 years documenting the evolution of the Telugu-speaking states. His reporting was foundational during the historic Telangana statehood movement and continues to track the post-bifurcation development of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Key Coverage Beats: His extensive portfolio covers a vast spectrum of critical issues: High-Stakes Politics: Comprehensive tracking of regional powerhouses (BRS, TDP, YSRCP, and Congress), electoral shifts, and the political careers of figures like K.

Chandrashekar Rao, Chandrababu Naidu, and Jagan Mohan Reddy. Internal Security & Conflict: Authoritative reporting on Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), the decline of the Maoist movement in former hotbeds, and intelligence-led investigations into regional security modules.

Governance & Infrastructure: Detailed analysis of massive irrigation projects (like Kaleshwaram and Polavaram), capital city developments (Amaravati), and the implementation of state welfare schemes. Crisis & Health Reporting: Led the publication's ground-level coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic in South India and major industrial incidents, such as the Vizag gas leak.

Analytical Depth: Beyond daily news, Sreenivas is known for his "Explained" pieces that demystify complex regional disputes, such as river water sharing and judicial allocations between the sister states. ... Read More