An Indian student in Massachusetts, charged with assaulting his professor, was on Wednesday refused bail. Nikhil Dhar, 22, pleaded not guilty to charges of armed assault with intent to murder.
The 22-year-old student allegedly stabbed his professor Mary Elizabeth Hooker, at her Cambridge home, because he was upset with his failing grade in her class.
The police said Dhar knocked on Hooker's door at 1830 local time on December 23 and pushed her down while shouting abuses at her, stabbed her many times before slashing her neck and ripping off her shirt.
He also had a note with the word kill in his right coat pocket, the police said.
While Hooker has been released from the hospital, Dhar, who is considered a flight risk because he could go back to India, remains in jail awaiting a second hearing on January 19.
He told the police that Hooker mistook him for a burglar and chased him out of the house, leading to a fight.
Meanwhile, the public relations office at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, where Dhar was a junior with clinical science major, told rediff.com that Dhar 'will not be enrolled at the school' even if he were granted a bail. One of the reasons for his disbarring was his failing grades, the office said.
His attorney Stephen Hrone, one of Boston's best-known defense attorneys with over 35 years practice, told the media the situation was complicated and that his client does not have a history of violence.
Dhar also has the full support of his family, Hrone said.
Earlier, he had asked the Cambridge District Court to place Dhar under house arrest at his uncle's home near Boston with an electronic monitoring bracelet, but the judge refused.
Echoing Hrone's view that Dhar was a well-regarded student, several UML students told local newspapers that they were shocked to hear the charges against Dhar.
'Honestly, I would never have known that he would do something like this,' Mita Hirani, a student at Lowell, wrote in an e-mail to Boston.com.
'He's a nice kid and just very active in school and always there for everyone.'
If Dhar is found guilty, he faces at least five years in prison. On a student visa, Dhar, who studied in Kolkata before coming to America, could be deported to India after serving part of the sentence.
