Indiana: Amid a series of attacks on Indian students in the United States, a similar case has emerged where a 23-year-old man was found dead at Indiana's Purdue University on Monday. Notably, this was the fifth such case in the US this year and the second case at the University. The student was identified as Sameer Kamath.
According to The Purdue Exponent-- news agency independent of the university serving Purdue students-- Kamath was found about 5 p.m. Monday at NICHES land trust, a nature preserve, at Crow’s Grove. A press release from Justin Brummett, the Warren County Coroner, said the forensic autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon (local time) in Crawfordsville.
According to mechanical engineering head Eckhard Groll, Kamath was from Massachusetts and received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and came to Purdue in the summer of 2021. He graduated from the department with a master's Degree in mechanical engineering on August 4. As per his LinkedIn profile, the 23-year-old Indian student was slated to graduate from the doctoral program in 2025.
Attacks on Indian students soar in US
It is worth mentioning attacks on Indians, especially on students, have soared tremendously in recent years. In fact, the same was admitted by Jaishankar in the Lok Sabha on Friday. According to the Minister, a total of 403 Indian students have died in foreign countries since 2018 due to various reasons including natural causes, accidents and medical conditions. He told the House that Canada had the highest number of deaths of Indian students at 91, while the United Kingdom followed second with 48 cases.
Neel Acharya was found dead in the same university
Earlier in December last year, another Indian student, Neel Acharya, who was pursuing a double major at Purdue University in the US state of Indiana found dead days after he went missing. "Our son Neel Acharya has been missing since yesterday January 28 (12:30 AM EST) He is studying at Purdue University in the US. He was last seen by the Uber driver who dropped him off at Purdue University. We are looking for any info on him. Please help us if you know anything," his mother Goury Acharya, had posted on X about Neel missing.
Replying to her post, India's Consulate General in Chicago, said: "(The) Consulate is in touch with Purdue University authorities and also with Neel’s family. The consulate will extend all possible support and help." Later, his dead body was recovered. The mystery of death has not been resolved yet and an investigation is still going on.
Vivek Saini was killed by a drug addict
Subsequently, Vivek Saini, another Indian student from Haryana, was hammered to death by a homeless drug addict in Georgia state’s Lithonia city.
Saini, a part-time clerk at a store that sheltered Faulkner, had shown kindness to the accused for almost two days and provided him with chips, a coke, water, and even a jacket for warmth, M9 News Channel reported on Sunday. The young student, who had migrated to the US two years ago after completing his B Tech, had recently earned a Master’s in Business Administration. Saini's family in Haryana mourns the loss of the promising young man, describing him as a brilliant student striving for a decent job.
Shreyas Reddy Benigeri
Later, the death of another Indian student Shreyas Reddy Benigeri was reported from the Ohio region. According to the Indian Embassy in New York, the police investigation was underway but no foul play was suspected as of now.
Further, it added that the Consulate remains in touch with the family and is extending all possible assistance to them. "Deeply saddened by the unfortunate demise of Mr. Shreyas Reddy Benigeri, a student of Indian origin in Ohio. Police investigation is underway. At this stage, foul play is not suspected. The Consulate continues to remain in touch with the family and is extending all possible assistance to them," according to the social media post of the Indian Embassy in New York.
Akul B Dhawan
On February 1, the Indian Embassy in New York said that an 18-year-old Indian-American student, Akul B Dhawan, at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was found dead last month with signs of hypothermia. He went missing in the early hours of January 20 and was found dead almost 10 hours later on the back porch of a building near the university campus in west Urbana in the US state of Illinois.
