Indian student found dead in Indiana; fifth incident in US, second in the university

NEW DELHI: A 23-year-old Indian student, Sameer Kamath, was found dead in Warren County, Indiana in the United States. This marks the fifth incident of the death of Indian students this year, and the second incident from Purdue University.

According to reports from Purdue University's newspaper, 'The Exponent,' Sameer Kamath, a doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering, was discovered lifeless in Warren County. The head of the mechanical engineering department, Eckhard Groll, announced this news to the ME community on Tuesday afternoon.

The press release from Warren County Coroner, Justin Brummett, revealed that Sameer Kamath was found at around 5 pm local time on Monday at Crow's Grove, a nature preserve within NICHES land trust. A forensic autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon (local time) in Crawfordsville.

Hailing from Massachusetts, Kamath had obtained his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He joined Purdue University in the summer of 2021 and had already completed his Master's Degree in mechanical engineering, as stated in the summer commencement program. His LinkedIn profile also indicated that he was due to graduate from the doctoral program in 2025.

The investigation into Sameer Kamath's death is currently ongoing, led by local authorities and university officials, with the Warren County Coroner assuring that more information will be shared as it becomes available.

This is the fifth incident of the death of Indian students in the US this year. Recently, Shreyas Reddy, a student at the Linder School of Business, was found dead in Cincinnati, Ohio. However, the cause of his death remains unknown. This also marks the third death of an Indian student within a week, after Vivek Saini and Neel Acharya were also reported dead. Neel Acharya was a student at Purdue University and was discovered deceased on campus on January 30. Meanwhile, Vivek Saini was brutally killed in Lithonia, Georgia on January 29.

Earlier this year, on January 20, Akul Dhawan, an 18-year-old Indian-American student, was found dead near the University of Illinois.
(With inputs from agencies)