Shreyas Reddy Beniger was studying at Linder School of Business in Ohio.
New Delhi:
A student of Indian origin was found dead in the US on Thursday making it the fourth such incident this year.
19-year-old Shreyas Reddy Beniger was a student at the Lindner College of Business in Ohio. Officials told NDTV that Shreyas’ parents stay in Hyderabad, but he had an American passport.
Authorities have ruled out any foul play or a possibility of a hate crime in the case.
The Indian Mission in New York has expressed anguish over the incident and said a probe is on to ascertain the cause of Beniger’s death.
“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,” the Indian Consulate in New York posted on X – earlier known as Twitter.
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…
— India in New York (@IndiainNewYork) February 1, 2024
Earlier this week, Neel Acharya – a student at Purdue University – was found dead on Monday. Acharya was missing since Sunday. Hours later, a body was found on the university campus and was identified as that of Acharya.
His mother Gaury on Sunday put out a post on social media, informing that Acharya had been missing and was last seen by an Uber driver who dropped him at the campus. She sought help in finding him. Soon after, Acharya was confirmed dead.
In another case, Vivek Saini – a resident of Haryana’s Panchkula – was hammered to dead by a homeless man in Georgia’s Lithonia on January 16.
Vivek Saini, who was pursuing MBA in Georgia’s Lithonia, worked part-time at a convenience store that sheltered a homeless man Julian Faulkner. Saini had reportedly given the man chips, water and even a jacket. On January 16, the 25-year-old reportedly refused to give Faulkner free food and this led to the attack.
Another Indian student, Akul Dhawan, was found dead outside the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in January this year,
The 18-year-old’s autopsy suggested that he died from hypothermia.
However, Dhawan’s parents have filed a complaint, accusing the university’s police department of negligence and inaction after Akul Dhawan was reported missing. “This is bizarre, that a kid is never found who was just less than a block, like one minute away, sitting there, dead, frozen to death,” his father Ish Dhawan said.
With the huge influx of students annually post-Covid, the US has issued student visas to about 2 lakh students in the last two years.
Currently, about 3 lakh Indian students are enrolled in various courses in the US.
