20 students from Pavagada studied in the school

The parents of about 20 students from Pavagada taluk in Tumakuru district, who are enrolled at Pragathi School in Bengaluru, are in a state of panic after hearing about Gautami’s murder.

D.L. Hanumantha Reddy, a friend of Gautami’s father T. Ramesh, said that all the parents are planning to bring their children back. They admitted their children paying a fee of over Rs. 1.5 lakh per student per annum in the hope of giving them a better future.

Mr. Reddy said, “Almost all the parents wanted their children to pursue professional courses, especially medicine.”

Mr. Ramesh runs a medical shop. Her mother, R. Lakshmi, is a homemaker. Gautami is their only child and aspired to become a doctor.

They admitted her to Pragathi School after learning about its “good performance” through an advertisement, said Mr. Reddy.

Shirisha is also from Pavagada taluk and her mother, Dr. Jayanthi runs a clinic in Pavagada town while her father, Srinath, is a contractor.

Speaking about Gautami’s academic performance, Mr. Reddy said, “She studied from first standard to seventh in a private school in Pavagada and did her high school at Davangere. She scored 95 per cent in the SSLC examination. She had written the second PU examination. Her score will not be less than 90 per cent.”

Gautami’s funeral will take place at Pavagada on Thursday morning.

Gautami had written the II PU examination, and her score will

not be less than

90 per cent

D.L. Hanumantha Reddy,a friend of Gautami’s father