Hours After Protecting Woman Classmate, Hyderabad Student Dead

When Harshvardhan Rao, 19, thought a senior student at his Hyderabad college was trying to harass a female classmate, he objected. Just two hours later, on Saturday, he was dead, after being assaulted by his senior, who has now been arrested. "Satish K (22) who was on the run since Saturday after allegedly beating to death his junior Harshavardhan Rao (19), was arrested from Kachiguda railway station this morning," Assistant Commissioner of Police (Sultan Bazar division) Ravula Giridhar said. Angry students yesterday vandalised the private college, smashing its windows. Harsh and his friends were walking down a college corridor when a final-year student, Satish Kodkar, reportedly reportedly teased a girl in the group. Harsh objected. During the lunch break, Satish walked into Harsh's classroom and allegedly beat him repeatedly till the junior student fell unconscious. His friends rushed him to hospital. ''Satish did all this in front of so many people and yet no one from the faculty or management stepped in to intervene,'' said Harshvardhan's older brother, Tribhuvan Rao. ''Rao became unconscious and was shifted to a nearby hospital where he died while undergoing treatment," said G Srinivas, a senior police officer handling the case. Harshavardhan's brother Tribhuvan told NDTV that his brother was a soft-spoken man who had paid with his life trying to protect a young woman. ''There have been incidents of violence against juniors and sexual harassment against girls in the college but the management never paid any attention,'' he alleged. Students at the private college agree. They say after Harshvardhan was beaten up, the management did not help and it was left to them to move the injured student to hospital.