NEW DELHI: Another Indian student, the ninth so far this year, died of unnatural causes in the United States.
Uma Satya Sai Gadde, an Indian student in Cleveland, Ohio, passed away suddenly, posted the Indian Consulate in New York.
“Police investigation is underway. The Consulate continues to remain in touch with the family in India,” it added.
The Consulate said all possible assistance is being extended including to transport Uma Gadde’s mortal remains to India at the earliest.
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.
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.
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.