Indian-American Student Dies By Suicide In US, 5th Incident Since Jan

A 23-year-old Indian-American Purdue University student, Sameer Kamath, was found dead in a nature preserve in Indiana. According to PTI, Kamath had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Kamath’s body was found in the woods of NICHES Land Trust – Crow’s Grove in Williamsport, Indiana, on February 5. Following a forensic autopsy performed on February 6, Justin Brummett, Coroner at Warren County Coroner’s Office, confirmed the cause of death. 

This is the fifth incident of death of Indian students in US this year and the second incident from thePurdue University.

In a press release, the coroner’s office stated that the preliminary cause of death was ruled as suicide due to a gunshot wound to the head, pending a toxicology report. “Through extensive investigation by the Warren County Coroner’s Office in conjunction with multiple other local and federal agencies, we are now able to release a preliminary cause and manner of death,” the release said, according to PTI. Kamath’s family was informed of the findings prior to the public release of information.

Kamath’s Educational Background

Kamath was a doctoral candidate in mechanical engineering, as per PTI. The report added that mechanical engineering head Eckhard Groll said in an email to the ME community that Kamath was from Massachusetts. Kamath was to graduate from the doctoral program in 2025. 

He “received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and came to Purdue in the summer of 2021,” the Purdue Exponent report added.

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String Of Deaths Of Indian Origin Students 

Kamath’s passing adds to a series of tragic incidents involving students of Indian origin in the US. Last month, 19-year-old Purdue student Neel Acharya, who had been reported missing, was tragically found dead on the Purdue University West Lafayette campus. Authorities have stated that no trauma or significant injuries were discovered during the autopsy, and “no foul play is suspected at this time.”

Additionally, 25-year-old Indian student Vivek Saini was fatally attacked with a hammer by a homeless drug addict in Georgia. Furthermore, earlier this month, another Indian student named Syed Mazahir Ali, originally from Hyderabad and studying for a Masters in information technology, was pursued and brutally assaulted by three unidentified individuals in Chicago.