Indian student dies in US state of Ohio: Indian consulate in New York

NEW YORK: An Indian student in the US state of Ohio has died and police are investigating the case, India's diplomatic mission here has said, the latest in a string of tragedies to shock the community in the country. The consulate general of India in New York said on Friday that it was "deeply saddened" by the "unfortunate demise" of Uma Satya Sai Gadde in Cleveland, Ohio.

The consulate said that a police investigation into the death is underway, and it continues to remain in touch with the family in India. “All possible assistance is being extended, including to transport Uma Gadde’s mortal remains to India at the earliest,” the consulate said in a post on X. Since the beginning of 2024, there have been at least half a dozen deaths of Indian and Indian-origin students in the US. The alarming rise in the number of attacks has caused concern among the community.

Rise in violence

Last month, a 34-year-old trained classical dancer from India, Amarnath Ghosh, was shot dead in St Louis, Missouri. 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.

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The series of attacks on Indians and Indian origin persons/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. About 150 Indian Student Association office bearers and students from 90 US universities participated in the interaction led by charge d'affaires ambassador Sripriya Ranganathan. It was also attended by the consul generals of India in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Seattle.