New York: An initial investigation into the death of a 20-year-old Indian student named Abhijeeth Parachuru, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district, in Boston, despite his family alleging murder. Paruchuru was an engineering student at Boston University and his body was found inside an abandoned car in a forest on March 11.
Paruchuru's death is the latest in a series of deaths of Indian and Indian-origin students in the US. The alarming rise in the number of attacks has caused concern among the community. According to reports, Paruchuru was the only child of his parents and was considered a brilliant student. Local media reports claimed that he was killed due to some monetary issue with his fellow students at the university. His laptop was also reportedly stolen.
“Deeply saddened to learn about the unfortunate demise of Mr Abhijeeth Paruchuru, an Indian student in Boston. Mr Puruchuru’s parents, based in Connecticut, are in direct touch with detectives. Initial investigations rule out foul play,” the Consulate General of India in New York said in a post on X.
The consulate said it “rendered assistance in documentation and transportation of his mortal remains to India” and it remains in touch with local authorities as well as the Indian-American community in the matter. According to sources, 20-year-old Paruchuru's last rites have already been performed in his hometown Tenali in Andhra Pradesh. US-based nonprofit organisation TEAM Aid had helped to bring his mortal remains to India.
Attacks on Indians in the US
It is worth mentioning attacks on Indians, especially on students, soared tremendously in recent years. Earlier this month, Amarnath Ghosh, a 34-year-old trained classical dancer from India and a student of Washington University, was shot dead in St Louis, Missouri. He was shot several times near the border of St Louis' Academy and Central West End neighbourhoods.
Sameer Kamath, a 23-year-old Indian-American student at Purdue University, was found dead in a nature preserve in Indiana on February 5. On February 2, Vivek Taneja, a 41-year-old Indian-origin IT executive, suffered life-threatening injuries during an assault outside a restaurant in Washington, making it the seventh death of an Indian or Indian-American in recent months in the US.
Similarly, another Indian student, Syed Mazahir Ali, hailing from Hyderabad and pursuing a Master's in information technology, was chased and brutally attacked by three unidentified men in Chicago. In January, 19-year-old Shreyas Reddy Beniger, a student at the Lindner School of Business in Ohio State was found dead. However, local authorities had ruled out foul play.
Another Indian student, identified as Neel Acharya at Purdue University, Indiana, was confirmed dead days after being reported missing on January 28. Akul B Dhawan, an 18-year-old at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was found dead last month with signs of hypothermia.
US response to Indian deaths
The series of attacks on Indians and Indian origin person/students had prompted the officials of the Indian Embassy in Washington and its consulates at various places to hold a virtual interaction with Indian students from across the US, discussing various aspects of student well-being and ways to stay connected with the larger diaspora.
Meanwhile, a top envoy from the Biden administration reacted and assured that the American government is working in order to make the place safer for the Indian diaspora. US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti acknowledged the "unfortunate" deaths of Indian students and emphasised that the President Joe Biden-led government would make sure to make the country a wonderful place to study while keeping the safety agenda a top priority.
"Our heart always is touched when any tragedy, whether it is a life taken by somebody or any violence, no matter who they are," Ambassador Garcetti said on the sideline of the event. "We are very committed to making sure that Indians know that the United States is a wonderful place to study and to be safe," he added.
(with inputs from PTI)
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