A 24-year-old Indian student who was stabbed at a fitness centre in the US state of Indiana on October 29 died of his injuries at a hospital on Wednesday. Varun Raj Pucha, a computer science student at Valparaiso University, was stabbed in the head by Jordan Andrade, 24, police said. 

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of Varun Raj Pucha. Our campus community has lost one of its own, and our thoughts and prayers go out to Varun’s family and friends as we mourn this devastating loss,” Valparaiso University said in a statement.

The accused has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery. Andrade reportedly told the police that Varun “was going to assassinate” him, according to newly filed charges in the case.

Andrade told the police that Varun and he had never spoken before the attack but the former said that “someone” told him that Varun was “threatening”.

“Officers also spoke with Planet Fitness staff who indicated that (the stabbed man) was a regular gym member and generally kept to himself, was quiet and reserved, nothing indicating that he was ‘creepy,'” police said.

The Attack

Andrade said he walked into the massage room of the gym and found Varun, whom he did not know, but found “a little weird”, the police said. He maintained that he felt threatened by Varun and reacted accordingly, stating in his own words that he “just reacted”.

The accused insisted that Varun remained seated during the entire altercation and did not initiate any physical contact. He further alleged that the only physical contact occurred when Varun attempted to push him away after Andrade had already initiated the attack.

Claiming to be a former high school football player capable of bench-pressing 260 pounds, Andrade described Varun as “pretty little”.

Andrade maintained that he acted in self-defence, portraying himself as a “defensive fighter” who eliminated a threat with a knife. Upon further inquiry about the details of the attack, Andrade allegedly responded with a vague explanation, “Uh, I just put it through.”

When further questioned about the attack’s specifics, Andrade reportedly remained tight-lipped, stating, “I don’t even want to say it,” according to police. “It was in the head.”

The 24-year-old acknowledged pulling the knife out of his pocket, a tool he typically uses for opening boxes at his workplace, Menards.

Memorial

A memorial service for Varun will be held on campus on November 16th. 

“Our university gives the family and friends of Varun Raj Pucha our deepest condolences. Our thoughts are with his family, and we pray for their healing,” said the university.

Varun, from Telangana’s Khammam district, was pursuing an MS in computer science. He began his studies in the US in August 2022.

An experienced train driver, who earned accolades for his services in the past, spent nine days in a mental hospital and underwent a special checkup to prove his mental fitness because he had threatened to commit suicide to highlight his grievances.

After Shyam Singh was declared fit in the special checkup, the Agra Rail Division has now asked him to go for a refresher course before getting back to driving.

Agra Railway Division PRO Prashasti Srivastava said the medical examination was required to find out if he was mentally sound to drive trains. “We need to take every single measure to ensure safe train operations. A loco pilot, who carries thousands of passengers, must have an attentive and sound mind.” Mr Srivastava also denied any discrimination or revengeful behaviour by the department towards Mr Singh in any manner.

Mr Singh, 48, who joined the railways as an assistant loco pilot in 1996, has been fighting a legal battle against alleged injustice and highhandedness of his seniors for the past one year.

Mr Singh’s plight started in October 2022 when he received a notice for committing minor violations while driving. In his reply, he not only denied all allegations but also accused his seniors of victimizing him due to personal enmity.

When Mr Singh felt that he was being treated unfairly and not heard properly by his seniors, he applied for voluntary retirement from service (VRS) on December 23, 2022.

However, after his well-wishers and sympathizers advised him not to go for VRS and instead fight back, he opted to withdraw the VRS application, which the department refused and relieved him of his services on February 10, 2023.

Mr Singh challenged it in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Allahabad and got a stay order.

“Though the CAT restored his services, the department turned vindictive and put him in junior positions. They knew that he was an experienced mail and express train driver, still he was asked to work as an assistant driver in freight trains against the railway norms,” Sanjay Pandhi, working president of the Indian Railway Loco Runningmen Organisation (IRLRO), said. The IRLRO is providing legal assistance to Mr Singh to fight this case.

Mr Pandhi added, “Singh has been awarded multiple times…for his hard work and quick response to avert accidents.” Meanwhile, Singh wrote several times to his department to put him back to mail and express trains but it was turned down. Out of frustration and to draw the attention of his seniors towards his plight, one day, he wrote on a crew complaint book that he wanted to commit suicide to get rid of his humiliation.

The department used it against him and issued a direction for a mental fitness test and a special brain test to find out if he was mentally sound to drive trains.

When Mr Singh questioned that under which rule he was being subjected to such a test, the department justified it in writing saying that it was important to find out his mental fitness as he drives passenger trains which carry thousands of people and hence it is important for the safety of rail operations.

“Instead of holding a counselling session and trying to understand his grievances, the department sent him to a mental hospital to frustrate him further. This is really pathetic and I request that the Railway Board should intervene in such matters and help employees get justice,” Mr Pandhi added.

Mr Singh spent nine days in a mental hospital only to get a fitness certificate. Even after the hospital declared him medically fit, the department got another test – Non-contrast Computed Tomography (NCCT) of Head – done which showed him normal.

“Now to victimize him further, the railways has asked him to go for a refresher course. Loco pilots are sent for refresher course after three years of driving and Singh’s refresher course is due in July 2024 but the department wants to send him just because of its revengeful behaviour,” Mr Pandhi said.

Divisional PRO Mr Srivastava said that as winters are approaching and loco pilots will encounter foggy weather, every loco pilot will have to undertake a refresher’s course to ensure safe train operations.

“The department has treated Singh’s case with care and compassion. All allegations of injustice or highhandedness are incorrect. We are doing everything possible to bring him back to his job ensuring safety in railways.”

Lenders to Byju’s, once one of India’s hottest tech startups, properly cited a default on a $1.2 billion loan when taking over control of a unit of the education-technology provider, a Delaware judge concluded.

The lenders – which include Redwood Investments LLC and Silver Point Capital LP – were within their contractual rights to replace a relative of company founder Byju Raveendran on the board of Byju’s Alpha, a special-purpose company formed for financing purposes, with their nominee, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Morgan Zurn ruled. 

Zurn rejected a complaint by Byju’s that Timothy Pohl, tapped by lenders to oversee the special-purpose entity, was improperly authorized to take the reins. Pohl was “effectively seated” as the sole director of Byju’s Alpha because of the defaults, the judge said in a 41-page ruling. 

Lenders have been pushing hard for the repayment of the $1.2 billion loan amid the company’s mounting distress after a pandemic-era boom in online learning fizzled out. Byju’s had been working to sell assets and deal with the loan issue when government investigators searched company offices this year. The lender fight also has prompted some investors to write down their stakes in one of the world’s largest ed-tech companies. 

A lawyer for the lenders said earlier this year that Byju’s Alpha was intended to serve as a holding company to protect their rights in the case. The lenders weren’t seeking to take over the entire ed-tech company, Brock Czeschin, a lawyer for Red Tree and Silver Lake, said in a May court hearing.  

Bengaluru, India-based Byju’s didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. The closely held company had said the lenders’ default arguments are bogus. 

“We are pleased the Delaware Chancery Court agrees that Byju’s has repeatedly defaulted on its loan obligations,” a spokesperson for the lender group said in a statement. “The lenders reserve all rights available to them.”

The loan terms allowed lenders to take control of pledged Bjyu’s Alpha shares if a default triggered that right, Zurn said in her Nov. 2 ruling. When a company unit failed to get the Indian government’s backing as a loan guarantor, the lenders filed a notice of default in March, according to a transcript of the judge’s announcement of her decision. 

Pohl removed all of the company’s officers and took over as CEO after he was was appointed as sole director of Byju’s Alpha, according to the transcript. The suit over the loan was filed by Glas Trust Co., which serves as trustee for the lenders. The trust turned to Pohl to oversee Byju’s Alpha on behalf of the creditors. 

Byju’s complained that the ex-lawyer, whose received at least $375,000 for his role as the firm’s supreme leader, was reaping excessive fees. Zurn rejected that argument, saying Pohl’s $75,000-per-month pay was authorized by a “status-quo” order she entered in the case to protect Byju’s Alpha. 

The case is Glas Trust Company v. Ravindran, 2023-0488, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).