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FBI Boston has charged Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, an Indian national, with allegedly stabbing two minor victims with a metal fork while on board a Lufthansa flight from Chicago to Germany.
ਬੋਸਟਨ, ਐੱਮ.ਏ. – 28 ਅਕਤੂਬਰ 2025 – ਸ਼ਨੀਵਾਰ ਨੂੰ ਚਿਕਾਗੋ ਤੋਂ ਜਰਮਨੀ ਜਾ ਰਹੀ ਲੂਫਥਾਂਸਾ ਫਲਾਈਟ LH431 ‘ਚ ਇੱਕ ਭਾਰਤੀ ਨਾਗਰਿਕ ਪ੍ਰਨੀਤ ਕੁਮਾਰ ਉਸਿਰੀਪੱਲੀ (28) ਨੇ ਦੋ 17 ਸਾਲਾ ਨਾਬਾਲਗ ਮੁਸਾਫਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਧਾਤੂ ਦੀ ਫੋਰਕ ਨਾਲ ਜ਼ਖ਼ਮੀ ਕਰ ਦਿੱਤਾ। ਇਹ ਘਟਨਾ ਖਾਣਾ ਪਰੋਸੇ ਜਾਣ ਤੋਂ ਥੋੜ੍ਹੀ ਦੇਰ ਬਾਅਦ ਵਾਪਰੀ, ਜਿਸ ਕਾਰਨ ਫਲਾਈਟ ਨੂੰ ਬੋਸਟਨ ਲੋਗਨ ਏਅਰਪੋਰਟ ‘ਤੇ ਐਮਰਜੈਂਸੀ ਲੈਂਡਿੰਗ ਕਰਵਾਈ ਗਈ।ਬੋਸਟਨ ਦੀ ਫੈਡਰਲ ਅਦਾਲਤ ‘ਚ ਦਾਇਰ ਸ਼ਿਕਾਇਤ ਅਨੁਸਾਰ, ਪਹਿਲਾ ਸ਼ਿਕਾਰ (“ਮਾਈਨਰ ਏ”) ਮੱਧ ਵਾਲੀ ਸੀਟ ‘ਤੇ ਹਲਕੀ ਨੀਂਦ ‘ਚ ਸੀ। ਜਦੋਂ ਉਹ ਜਾਗਿਆ ਤਾਂ ਉਸਿਰੀਪੱਲੀ ਉਸ ਦੇ ਉੱਤੇ ਝੁਕਿਆ ਹੋਇਆ ਸੀ ਅਤੇ ਫੋਰਕ ਨਾਲ ਉਸ ਦੇ ਖੱਬੇ ਕੰਧੇ (ਕਲੈਵੀਕਲ) ‘ਤੇ ਵਾਰ ਕੀਤਾ। ਦੂਜੇ ਸ਼ਿਕਾਰ (“ਮਾਈਨਰ ਬੀ”) ਨੂੰ ਸਿਰ ਦੇ ਪਿੱਛੇ ਫੋਰਕ ਨਾਲ ਜ਼ਖ਼ਮੀ ਕੀਤਾ ਗਿਆ। ਦੋਵੇਂ ਮੁੰਡੇ ਇਕੱਠੇ ਯਾਤਰਾ ਕਰ ਰਹੇ ਸਨ ਅਤੇ ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਬੋਸਟਨ ‘ਚ ਹਸਪਤਾਲ ‘ਚ ਭਰਤੀ ਕਰਵਾਇਆ ਗਿਆ। ਜ਼ਖ਼ਮ ਜਾਨਲੇਵਾ ਨਹੀਂ ਸਨ।ਘਟਨਾ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਉਸਿਰੀਪੱਲੀ ਨੇ ਅਜੀਬ ਵਿਵਹਾਰ ਕੀਤਾ – ਉਸ ਨੇ ਆਪਣੀ ਉਂਗਲ ਨਾਲ “ਬੰਦੂਕ” ਦਾ ਇਸ਼ਾਰਾ ਕਰਕੇ ਮੂੰਹ ‘ਚ ਪਾ ਕੇ ਖ਼ੁਦਕੁਸ਼ੀ ਦਾ ਨਾਟਕ ਕੀਤਾ। ਇਸ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਉਸ ਨੇ ਇੱਕ ਮਹਿਲਾ ਮੁਸਾਫਰ ਨੂੰ ਥੱਪੜ ਮਾਰਿਆ ਅਤੇ ਫਲਾਈਟ ਅਟੈਂਡੈਂਟ ‘ਤੇ ਹਮਲਾ ਕਰਨ ਦੀ ਕੋਸ਼ਿਸ਼ ਕੀਤੀ। ਕਰੂ ਮੈਂਬਰਾਂ ਨੇ ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਜਹਾਜ਼ ਦੇ ਪਿੱਛੇ ਗੈਲੀ ‘ਚ ਬੰਨ੍ਹ ਦਿੱਤਾ।
Indian Student Charged in Mid-Air Assault: Stabs Two Teens with Metal Fork on Lufthansa Flight, Triggers Diversion to BostonBoston, MA – October 28, 2025 – A routine transatlantic flight turned into a scene of chaos on Saturday when Praneeth Kumar Usiripalli, a 28-year-old Indian national and master’s student in biblical studies, allegedly stabbed two 17-year-old passengers with a metal fork aboard Lufthansa Flight 431 from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to Frankfurt, Germany.
ਫਲਾਈਟ ‘ਚ 363 ਮੁਸਾਫਰ ਅਤੇ ਕਰੂ ਸਨ। ਲੈਂਡਿੰਗ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਐੱਫ.ਬੀ.ਆਈ. ਨੇ ਉਸਿਰੀਪੱਲੀ ਨੂੰ ਗ੍ਰਿਫ਼ਤਾਰ ਕਰ ਲਿਆ। ਉਹ ਬਾਈਬਲ ਅਧਿਐਨ ‘ਚ ਮਾਸਟਰਜ਼ ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਸੀ ਅਤੇ ਸਟੂਡੈਂਟ ਵੀਜ਼ੇ ‘ਤੇ ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ‘ਚ ਸੀ, ਪਰ ਹੁਣ ਉਸ ਦਾ ਕਾਨੂੰਨੀ ਇਮੀਗ੍ਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਸਟੇਟਸ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੈ।ਉਸ ‘ਤੇ ਜਹਾਜ਼ ‘ਚ ਖ਼ਤਰਨਾਕ ਹਥਿਆਰ ਨਾਲ ਹਮਲੇ ਦਾ ਦੋਸ਼ ਹੈ – ਸਜ਼ਾ: 10 ਸਾਲ ਤੱਕ ਕੈਦ, $250,000 ਜੁਰਮਾਨਾ। ਮੁਲਜ਼ਮ ਦਾ ਵਕੀਲ ਅਜੇ ਨਿਯੁਕਤ ਨਹੀਂ ਹੋਇਆ। ਮਤਲਬ ਜਾਂ ਮਾਨਸਿਕ ਸਥਿਤੀ ਬਾਰੇ ਜਾਂਚ ਜਾਰੀ ਹੈ।ਲੂਫਥਾਂਸਾ ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ: “ਫਲਾਈਟ ਸੁਰੱਖਿਅਤ ਲੈਂਡ ਕੀਤੀ ਗਈ। ਮੁਸਾਫਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਨਵੀਂ ਫਲਾਈਟ ‘ਚ ਭੇਜਿਆ।”ਦੋਵੇਂ ਮੁੰਡੇ ਹੁਣ ਠੀਕ ਹਨ। ਉਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਦੇ ਪਰਿਵਾਰ ਨੇ ਪ੍ਰਾਈਵੇਸੀ ਮੰਗੀ ਹੈ।ਐੱਫ.ਬੀ.ਆਈ. ਨੇ ਕਿਹਾ: “ਹਵਾਈ ਜਹਾਜ਼ ‘ਚ ਹਿੰਸਾ ਲਈ ਜ਼ੀਰੋ ਟਾਲਰੈਂਸ ਨੀਤੀ ਹੈ।”
The incident, which unfolded shortly after meal service, prompted an emergency diversion to Boston’s Logan International Airport, where Usiripalli was swiftly taken into custody by federal authorities.According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, the attack began when one of the victims—referred to in court documents as “Minor A”—was lightly sleeping in a middle seat in the center row of the Boeing 747-8 aircraft. The teen awoke to find Usiripalli looming over him, fork in hand. Without warning, Usiripalli allegedly struck the boy in the left clavicle (shoulder/collarbone) area with the utensil, using his right hand to deliver the blow.
The victim suffered a puncture wound but remained conscious and alert.The violence escalated almost immediately. Usiripalli then lunged toward the adjacent passenger—”Minor B,” seated to Minor A’s right—and jabbed the same metal fork into the back of the second teen’s head. Minor B sustained a laceration to the rear of his scalp, requiring medical attention upon landing. Both victims, who were traveling together, were treated by onboard medical personnel and later at a Boston hospital; neither injury was reported as life-threatening.
As flight attendants and crew members rushed to intervene and restrain the suspect, Usiripalli’s behavior grew even more erratic. Witnesses and court filings describe him raising his right hand, forming a “gun” shape with his thumb and forefinger, placing it in his mouth, and miming pulling the trigger in a simulated suicide gesture. Moments later, he allegedly turned to a female passenger seated to his left and slapped her across the face. He also attempted to strike one of the flight crew members before being fully subdued and secured in the aircraft’s rear galley.The disturbance forced the captain to declare an emergency and divert the flight, which carried 363 passengers and crew, to Boston Logan around 6:30 p.m. local time.
The plane landed safely, and FBI agents from the Boston field office, along with Massachusetts State Police and airport security, boarded the aircraft to arrest Usiripalli without further incident. Passengers were deplaned and accommodated on a replacement flight that continued to Frankfurt later that evening.Lufthansa issued a brief statement confirming the diversion: “Lufthansa confirms that flight LH431… operating from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to Frankfurt am Main was diverted to Boston on Saturday, October 25, 2025, where it landed safely.” The airline has not commented further on the incident or the suspect’s seating arrangement, but sources indicate Usiripalli was traveling in economy class.
Usiripalli, originally from the Telugu-eaking region of India, was in the U.S. on a student visa but currently lacks lawful immigration status, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. He faces a single federal count of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm while traveling on an aircraft within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States—a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted. He is being held in federal custody pending an initial court appearance in Boston, scheduled for a later date this week. It was not immediately clear if Usiripalli has retained legal counsel or entered a plea.
The FBI’s Boston division led the investigation, with assistance from the Transportation Security Administration and Lufthansa’s security team. Authorities have not publicly disclosed a motive for the attack, though preliminary reports suggest Usiripalli may have been acting under the influence of an unknown substance or experiencing a mental health episode. Toxicology tests and further interviews are ongoing.This incident marks the latest in a string of in-flight disturbances involving violence or unruly behavior, highlighting ongoing challenges for airlines amid post-pandemic travel surges. The FBI has urged passengers to report suspicious activity immediately and emphasized the zero-tolerance policy for threats aboard aircraft.
The two teen victims, whose identities are protected due to their age, have been released from medical care and are cooperating with investigators. Their families released a brief statement through a spokesperson: “We are grateful for the quick response of the crew and authorities. Our sons are shaken but recovering, and we ask for privacy during this difficult time.”As the case proceeds, federal prosecutors are expected to seek a swift resolution, potentially including immigration consequences given Usiripalli’s status. Updates will follow as court proceedings unfold.
