In a recent lamentable occurrence, an Indian scholar met his demise in Boston, with preliminary inquiries discounting any suspicion of foul play, as indicated by officials on Monday. Expressing profound sorrow over the untimely passing of Mr. Abhijeeth Paruchuru, an Indian scholar situated in Boston, the Consulate General of India in New York conveyed this information via a post on X.
Paruchuru’s progenitors reside in Connecticut and are presently engaging in direct communication with investigators. The initial inquiries have dismissed any notion of foul play, as articulated by the consulate. It was further elaborated that the consulate provided assistance in the processing of documentation and the conveyance of his mortal remains to India, while maintaining a liaison with both local authorities and the Indian-American populace regarding this affair.
As per sources, the final rites for the 20-year-old Paruchuru have already been conducted in his native place of Tenali in Andhra Pradesh. The US-based charitable organization, TEAM Aid, played a pivotal role in facilitating the repatriation of his mortal remains to India. The onset of 2024 has witnessed a minimum of six demises of Indian and Indian-origin scholars in the US. This escalating trend in violent incidents has sparked apprehension within the community.
In the month of March, Amarnath Ghosh, a 34-year-old proficient in classical dance from India and a scholar at Washington University, succumbed to gun violence in St. Louis, Missouri. Ghosh, a practitioner of Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam, relocated to the US from West Bengal the previous year to pursue his passion for dance. He was subjected to multiple gunshot wounds in close proximity to the demarcation line between St. Louis’ Academy and Central West End localities, resulting in instantaneous fatality.
Similarly, Sameer Kamath, a 23-year-old Indian-American scholar enrolled at Purdue University, was discovered deceased in a natural reserve in Indiana on February 5th. On February 2nd, Vivek Taneja, a 41-year-old individual of Indian heritage employed in the IT sector, sustained grievous injuries during an altercation outside an eatery in Washington, marking the seventh demise of an Indian or Indian-American in recent months within the US.
Preceding this, Syed Mazahir Ali, an Indian scholar, fell victim to assailants in Chicago. Earlier incidents include the fatal assault on 25-year-old Indian scholar Vivek Saini by a vagrant substance abuser in Lithonia city, Georgia, affiliated with the state’s Lithonia City’s Lindner School of Business. In January, the lifeless body of 19-year-old Shreyas Reddy Beniger, a scholar at Ohio State’s Lindner School of Business, was discovered, although law enforcement officials negated any involvement of foul play.
Further occurrences involve the demise of Neel Acharya, an Indian scholar at Purdue University, Indiana, whose demise was confirmed days following his report of disappearance on January 28th. Additionally, Akul B Dhawan, an 18-year-old enrolled at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was discovered lifeless last month, exhibiting signs of hypothermia. The succession of attacks targeting individuals of Indian descent has prompted officials at the Indian Embassy in Washington and its consulates across various locations to conduct virtual discussions with Indian scholars nationwide, focusing on diverse facets of scholar welfare and strategies to uphold connectivity within the broader diaspora.
Approximately 150 office-bearers of the Indian Student Association, along with scholars from 90 US universities, partook in these discussions led by Charge d’Affaires, Ambassador Sripriya Ranganathan. The event was also graced by the presence of Consul Generals representing India in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle.
