Varanasi police on the night of Tuesday,12th August, arrested a contract killer involved in the brutal assault on Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Telugu Department head, Professor C.S. Ramachandra Murthy. The accused, identified as Pramod Kumar alias Ganesh Pasi, was shot in the leg during a brief encounter before being taken into custody.
Police said Pasi confessed to the attack on after being hired by another professor from the same department, Professor Budati Venkateswarlu, who is former Head of the Telugu Department. According to officials, the assailant revealed that the contract was given through a former research scholar from South India, who had personal ties to the professor.
प्रोफेसर ने विभागाध्यक्ष पर कराया था हमला, मुठभेड़ एक गिरफ्तार #UPPolice #PoliceCommissionerateVaranasi #DCP_Kashi_Vns #VaranasiPoliceInNews pic.twitter.com/2licpafQHc
— DCP Kashi (@VnsDcp) August 13, 2025
An internal dispute sparked the attack
Investigations suggest the motive behind the attack stemmed from a heated dispute between Professor Murthy and Professor Venkateswarlu. Upset over certain matters, the former Head of Department decided to “teach him a lesson” and sought the help of two of his former research students from Telangana. He told the students, Bhaskar and Modgu Kasim Babu, that the current HoD was harassing him, and was not letting him work.
The former students then contacted an acquaintance named Mohammed Kasim in Prayagraj for the job. The three arrived at Varanasi on 25 July, and met with Ganesh Pasi, who engaged two other contract criminals to carry out the assault. The attackers were given a motorbike near the BHU campus to approach their target.
The brutal assault
On the evening of 28th July, as Prof. Murthy was heading home to Brij Enclave Colony from the campus around 6:30 p.m., the two assailants waited near the Birla Hostel crossing. Armed with steel rods, they brutally beat the professor, leaving him with multiple fractures in both arms. After the attack, they escaped via the highway.
Bystanders rushed the injured professor to BHU Trauma Centre, where he was treated. Following his complaint, police registered an FIR and formed three teams to track down the attackers.
The arrest and encounter
DCP Crime Saravanan T. said that during a late-night vehicle checking operation in the Nuaav area, police spotted Pasi. On seeing officers, he tried to flee through a different route. When police ordered him to stop, he fired at them with a locally made gun.
बीएचयू के प्रोफेसर पर जानलेवा हमला करने वाले अभियुक्तगणों की गिरफ्तारी के संबंध में अपर पुलिस उपायुक्त, काशी जोन महोदय की बाइट #CrackdownVaranasi #DCP_Kashi_Vns @Uppolice @varanasipolice https://t.co/AXs9BMSH53 pic.twitter.com/gFXVTl0XFs
— DCP Kashi (@VnsDcp) August 13, 2025
In retaliatory fire, a bullet struck Pasi’s leg, causing him to collapse. He was taken to BHU Trauma Centre for treatment and later formally arrested. Police recovered a pistol from his possession.
According to police, the original plan was to attack Prof. Murthy outside the university premises. However, after conducting reconnaissance, the attackers decided to strike inside the campus. The entire assault was orchestrated jointly by the former Head of the Department of Telugu, the former student, and the contract killer.
On the next day of the incident, 29th July, BHU professors held a protest at Singh Dwar (main gate), seeking arrest within the police station itself. The protest occupied the entry gate for a while, which resulted in a confrontation between the police and the protesters. The senior officers, including the ACP, managed to calm down the crowd, promising prompt action.
Pasi is currently in custody, and Bhaskar, one of the students who contacted the criminals, have been arrested. His Aadhaar card details were found from a hotel where they had stayed, and this led to his arrest. Police have also traced online financial transactions used in the crime. The officials stated they are attempting to arrest everyone implicated in the conspiracy.
The arrested persons have confessed that they were asked to attack the professor to intimidate him, and not to kill him.
