An Indian-American student, who was completing his doctorate in mechanical engineering from Purdue University, was found dead in a nature preserve on Monday evening (Feb 5), reported the Warren County Coroner’s office.
The 23-year-old student, identified as Sameer Kamath, had US citizenship and had completed his master’s degree in mechanical engineering in August 2023 from Purdue University, confirmed the coroner’s office.
He is the second Indian-American student from Purdue University who died under mysterious circumstances in the last few weeks, after Neel Acharya.
Kamath’s body was found at the Crow’s Grove Nature Preserve around 5 pm (local time) on Monday (Feb 5). Crow’s Grove Nature Preserve is part of the Niches Land Trust which is located at 3300 North Warren County Road 50 West, in Williamsport.
A press release regarding the death of the Indian-American student was released by Warren County Coroner Justin Brummett on Tuesday afternoon (Feb 6).
Kamath received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and enrolled at Purdue in 2021.
As per his LinkedIn profile, he was set to graduate from the doctoral programme in 2025.
Death, attack cases involving Indian students rise in the US
The new death comes in the wake of Indian or Indian-origin students in the US facing increasing attacks in the United States.
Indian student Syed Mazahir Ali’s video surfaced on Wednesday (Feb 7) in which he was seen bleeding profusely and desperately pleading for help in Chicago after getting attacked by robbers.
This was the fourth such case to have emerged in recent days. Another 19-year-old student, Shreyas Reddy Beniger, who held an American passport, was found dead last week. The authorities ruled out any foul play.
Watch: US: 3 Indian students killed within a week
Neel Acharya, another student of Purdue University, was found dead on the campus, hours after he was reported missing by his mother.
A 25-year-old student, Vivek Saini from Haryana, was hammered to death in Georgia’s Lithonia by a homeless man on January 16.
Another Indian student, Akul Dhawan, was found dead outside the campus of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in January.
(With inputs from agencies)
