Indian student of Purdue University found dead, fifth in the US this year

 A 23-year-old Indian student who was pursuing a doctoral degree at Purdue University in the US has been found dead, taking the number of Indian students killed in the country to five since the start of this year.

Sameer Kamath's body was found at about 5.00 pm on Monday at Crow's Grove Nature Preserve in Williamsport, Warren County Coroner Justin Brummett said in a news release published Tuesday afternoon.

Kamath, a US citizen according to the coroner’s office, was a doctorate student in the mechanical engineering department at Purdue University, Indiana-based Journal & Courier reported, citing the coroner's office. He graduated from the department in August 2023 with a master's degree in mechanical engineering.

The release from the coroner's office said a forensic autopsy is scheduled to be performed in Crawfordsville and the family has been notified about the death. The Warren County sheriff's office further stated that there is no threat to the public and that the incident is being investigated.

With Kamath's death, five Indian students have died in quick succession in the US since the start of this year, including Shreyas Reddy Benigeri in Cincinnati and Purdue University's Neel Acharya in Indiana.

A total of 403 deaths of Indian students abroad have been reported since 2018 owing to various reasons, including natural causes, accidents and medical conditions, the government informed the Lok Sabha recently. External affairs minister S. Jaishankar said the welfare of Indian students abroad is one of the foremost priorities for the government.

A country-wise breakup showed 91 Indian students died in Canada, 48 in the UK, 40 in Russia, 36 in the US, 35 in Australia, 21 in Ukraine, and 20 in Germany.

Indian students constitute more than 25 per cent of the over 1 million foreign students studying in the US, according to a November 2023 Open Doors report. The number of Indians who travelled to the US for higher education increased by 35 per cent and resulted in an all-time high of nearly 2.67 lakh students in the academic year 2022-23, the report said.

Last year, the US consular team in India issued over 140,000 student visas — more than in any other country in the world, setting a record for the third year in a row.