Los Angeles: He visited one of the finest institutions of India, went on to study at the finest institutions of the world. In many ways, Mainak Sarkar lived the perfect life many young aspiring Indians wish to lead.
However, behind the big names of the big institutes and the apparent sense of a good life studying abroad, Mainak’s life – and death -- has today come to signify all that does not fit into the idea of a perfect life.
A former student of the University of California, Los Angeles, 38-year-old Mainak shot dead a woman at her home in Minnesota before he drove over 3,000 km to the school and killed a professor (William Klug) but failed to find a third intended victim, police said on Thursday.
Here are 10 things we know of him so far:
1. A resident of Kolkata, Sarkar completed his engineering in aerospace from IIT Kharagpur in 2000.
2. Police said that a 'kill list' found at his home in Los Angeles featured a woman's name (Ashley Hasti). The woman was later found dead in Minnesota.
3. Neighbours and authorities confirmed that Sarkar had married Hasti on June 14, 2011. However, the marriage could not last long and the couple drifted apart. As per reports, both lived in separate homes and their photos on social media sites dated back to 2011
4. The other professor on the list was OK. He is said to have gotten lucky; he was off-campus that day.
5. Mainak Sarkar drove to Los Angeles from Minnesota (over 3,000 km) with two guns and killed Professor Klug before killing himself, police said.
6. Authorities said they later found a note by Sarkar saying those who found his body should take care of his cat he left behind in a Minnesota apartment.
7. Apparently, Sarkar's dispute with his professor Klug at UCLA stemmed from an alleged intellectual property theft. Sarkar had accused the professor of stealing his computer code and giving it to someone else, the Los Angeles Times reported.
8. Sarkar moved to USA in 2001. He completed his Master’s degree from Stanford University and then worked as a research assistant at University of Texas.
9. He briefly worked as a software developer before moving on to enroll at UCLA. He was working remotely as an engineering analyst for an Ohio-based rubber company Endurica till 2014.
10. The police said Sarkar may have lost mental balance due to the stresses in life. According to reports, he also had an adversarial relationship with his advisor.
