BTech student 'with superpower' jumps off 4th floor, suffers fractures

COIMBATORE: A third-year engineering student of a private college suffered injuries on limbs and head after he jumped off the fourth floor of the college hostel at Myleripalayam near Malumichampatti on Monday evening.

Police said the student, identified as A Prabhu, 19, from Mekkur village near Perundurai in Erode district, was admitted to a private hospital for treatment.

Prabhu is a BTech (Artificial Intelligence and Data Science) student. He was staying at the college hostel.

Of late, Prabhu was found disturbed and told his friends and roommates that he was under the influence of witchcraft last week, police said. Prabhu also claimed he had superpowers and could jump from any building without harming him, police said.

Around 6.30pm on Monday, Prabhu suddenly jumped from the fourth floor of his college hostel when two students were standing on the veranda, suffering injuries on his limbs and head. He was rushed to a private hospital at Othakkalmandapam by other students. From there, he was shifted to Ganga Hospital in Coimbatore, where he is undergoing treatment.

Chettipalayam police sub-inspector Karuppasamy Pandian checked Prabhu's mobile phone and found some videos.

He said Prabhu took videos of the wall and its height at the students’ hostel around 4am on Monday. His condition is said to be stable. But it will take time to recover completely, police said.

“The student was under severe depression. Hence, he tried to take the extreme step,” the SI said.

Chettipalayam police have registered a case and further investigation is going on.