Indian student who lost US visa status charged with stabbing 2 teens

New York, Oct 28 (IANS) An Indian student who lost his visa status allegedly went berserk on a flight to Germany and has been charged with stabbing two teenagers and slapping a woman, according to federal prosecutor Leah Foley in Boston.

After meal service on the Chicago-Frankfurt flight, Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli (28) stabbed a 17-year-old boy on the shoulder and another 17-year-old in the back of the head with a metal fork, her office said on Monday.

He also slapped a woman and tried to slap a flight crew, it said.

The flight was diverted to Boston, where Usiripalli was arrested.

“When flight crew members attempted to subdue Usiripalli, he allegedly raised his hand, formed a gun with his fingers, put it in his mouth and pulled an imaginary trigger,” according to the prosecutor’s office.

It did not give a motive for the attack, but said that Usiripalli, who came to the US on a student visa, “presently does not have lawful status.”

Without identifying the institution, it said he was enrolled in a master’s program in biblical studies.

A person with the same name has a LinkedIn profile where he says he is a student at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

On LinkedIn, the institute says it “exists to proclaim the gospel through equipping people to be biblically grounded, practically trained, and to engage the world through gospel-centered living.”

On its website, it said that it “reflects our belief that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God essential to every area of life.”

The prosecutor’s office said that if Usiripalli is convicted on the charge of assault on an aircraft with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm, he could face a maximum sentence of ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

--IANS

al/dan