The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Neighbours knew little about Nagaraja Kumar

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Saturday, May 10, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Neighbours knew little about Nagaraja Kumar

Staff Reporter

They get to learn about his arrest in the UK through the media

HIs parents work as junior college principals
His younger brother is a software engineer

Photo: NAGARA GOPAL

AWAY FROM THE GLARE: The locked flat at Vasudha Apartments where Nagaraja’s parents reside. They reportedly went into hiding.

HYDERABAD: Not many families living in Vasudha Apartments at Vennelagadda of Jeedimetla here know about N. Nagaraja Kumar.

It was indeed a rude jolt for them to learn that Nagaraja Kumar, who they believed had bright future after his overseas studies, was arrested in the United Kingdom on charges of killing Jyotirmayi, his fellow student hailing from Vijayawada.

When the media broke the news stating that Nagaraja of Hyderabad was identified as the killer, no one knew whether it was the same youngster who used to live in flat no. 205 of their high-rise complex.

“Firstly, many occupants of the apartment building here don’t know about Nagaraja. Though his parents and younger brother were living in the rented flat for the past three years, he flew to England two years ago,” Srinivas, owner of local Rio Club, told The Hindu.

But all the families living in the apartment building sympathised with Nagaraja’s soft-spoken and well-mannered parents -- N. Shivanarayana and N. Vageshwari. Neighbourhood families still have high regard for the couple, both working as principals of private junior colleges. Kumar’s younger brother Phanindra, a software engineer, too is known for his gentle nature.

Embarrassed

“Just when they were thinking that both the sons were settling well in their careers, the news of the arrest came like a death blow to them,” Somesh, a family friend, remarked.

What embarrassed the parents, being principals and guiding forces to thousands of students, was their son being held on charge of murdering a woman student.

Father calls UK

“I rang up my son’s friends on learning initially about the incident. They told me that he sustained injuries and the woman student died following an attack by some black students,” Shivanarayana told reporters.

As reports trickled in about Nagaraja’s arrest, his mother fainted. She was brought home late in the night after being treated at a hospital.

‘Mysterious’

Shivanarayana doesn’t believe that his son killed a student. He maintained that Nagaraja was not violent by nature and was always calm and quiet. He would remain silent for a day or two when somebody scolded him and would become normal again, he said.

He felt the whole incident was mysterious and urged that the London police thoroughly probe the case to ascertain facts. “If my son really did anything wrong, let him be punished after proper investigation,” he remarked.

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