Boston: An Indian student has been arrested in the US on charges of stabbing two co-passengers with a steel fork on a flight Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany.
It was not immediately known why the 28-year-old behaved in that manner. He has also been accused of slapping another passenger and attempting to slap a cabin crew member.
Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli is also alleged to have attacked others before being subdued. The flight was diverted to Boston, where he was arrested.
Usiripalli allegedly stabbed two 17-year-old boys, one in the shoulder and the other in the back of the head, with the metal fork after meal service. Authorities have called the attack unprovoked.
The incident apparently forced the pilots to make an emergency landing in Boston on Saturday.
Usiripalli currently does not have lawful status in the country, US authorities said.
“The student also allegedly slapped a female passenger and tried to slap a member of the crew. The second teen sustained a cut to the back of his head during the unprovoked mid-air attack,” an official said.
Usiripalli has been charged in a US district court with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm while travelling on an aircraft, according to the US Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts.
“Usiripalli was previously admitted to the US on a student visa. Most recently, he was enrolled in a master’s programme in biblical studies. Usiripalli presently does not have lawful status in the United States,” the US Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
