Two days after Indian student Praveen Reddy was brutally stabbed in London, the police have arrested three suspects in the case. His parents, meanwhile, were issued visas today so that they could travel to the United Kingdom to meet him.
28-year-old Praveen, an MBA student in the London School of Business Management, was attacked in London and was admitted to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel with multiple stab wounds on Friday. He is reportedly in a critical state.
According to the police, Praveen was stabbed several times.
His father, Sudhakar Reddy, a businessman in Hyderabad, had appealed to the Indian government for an urgent visa to travel to London. External Affairs Minister SM Krishna had also spoken to Praveen's father and ensured all possible help from the government in getting a visa.
Police believe Praveen sustained his injuries at an address on Kent Street. Eleven people have been arrested. Four remain in custody while seven have been granted bail.
"Police told us that they have admitted Praveen in a hospital and that his condition is serious," Mr Reddy said. " He was supposed to come down to Hyderabad on February 17 to attend a marriage," he added.
Mr Krishna had spoken to the acting High Commissioner Rajesh Prasad, asking him to extend all possible help to the Reddys, official sources in New Delhi said.
They also said that High Commission officials in the UK were coordinating with the doctors treating Praveen. Sources added that External Affairs Ministry officials in Delhi would take up the matter with the British High Commission to ensure expeditious issuance of the visa to his parents.
Praveen stays in an apartment in London's New Hampshire area.
This is the fourth attack on Indians in the last two months. The three incidents before this were fatal.
In the earlier incidents, 23-year-old Anuj Bidve was shot dead in Greater Manchester in Salford on December 26. The UK Police also confirmed on January 10, the death of 20-year-old student Gurdeep Hayer in Manchester city centre. This was followed by the murder of Avatar Singh Kolar, 62, and his British wife Carole Kolar, 58, in Birmingham on January 11.
