Sandeep\'s not the type to hold out threat: Dad

Hyderabad: For the last three days, B. Yadaiah, an RTC bus driver from the Musheerabad depot, has not slept or eaten since his son Sandeep was taken to hospital after his alleged threat to set himself ablaze resulted in an accidental fire at the Narayana Junior College.

When this correspondent visited, Yadaiah was seen sitting alone outside the Apollo Hospital in Santoshnagar, looking forlorn and anxious. "My son was never involved in any mischief and had only left home to assist a fellow student from his college in obtaining his Transfer Certificate (TC). Why would my son douse himself with petrol and even attempt to threaten? He is not the type to resort to such things,” Yadaiah said.

“I am from a poor Backward Caste family who came to the city to provide a better standard of living for my family than I had. If anything happens to Sandeep, the family will end their lives at the same college premises,” he stated.

Due to the sensitivity of the situation, the city police have deployed cops and barricaded the premises of Apollo Hospital in Santoshnagar. Families of other hospitalised patients were seen scattered outside the building.

"I had left Kurnool around 2 pm on Friday when I received a call from my home about Sandeep, my second son among three, leaving home with his friends and not answering calls. After about ten attempts to reach him, one of his friends answered to tell me that my son had doused himself with petrol and suffered burns at Narayana college,” Yadaiah said.

“I arrived at the hospital around 4.30 pm. We haven't eaten or slept because we're afraid our son won't survive. Doctors called me at around 10:30 am on Saturday to brief me and said they couldn't guarantee anything right now," he said, wiping away a tear.

A few feet away, the women of the family were gathered. They revealed that Sandeep and his brother Vamshi had attended the same college. Sandeep's wife was a batch-mate at the college with whom he had fallen in love. The married last year. Last month marked the couple's first anniversary.

Sandeep, who was home on a long weekend for Krishna Janmashtami, was summoned by a friend to assist Sai Narayana, who had his certificates stuck at the college. Because he is familiar with the college, he went along with a few others from the ABVP and Telangana Student Union. "We didn't think it would be the last time we'd see him normal," a family member told Deccan Chronicle.
Sandeep's brother Vamshi stated that his friends and family looked up to him because of his helpful nature. Sandeep was a member of the Telangana Student Union before beginning work for a private firm in Begumpet. His family is from Chevella and lives in Ramanthapur.

"My brother and I were both students at the same college. Nobody is providing us with any information about the incident, and all we know is from WhatsApp forwards and the media," he said.