A 25-year-old student from Hyderabad, who moved to the US in 2023 for a Master’s at Cleveland State University, has been found dead, the Indian embassy in New York said today. Mohammed Abdul Arfath had been missing for nearly three weeks, and the embassy had earlier said that it was in touch with Abdul’s family and was working with local law enforcement agencies to locate him. This morning, the embassy said he was found dead.
Anguished to learn that Mr. Mohammed Abdul Arfath, for whom search operation was underway, was found dead in Cleveland, Ohio.
Our deepest condolences to Mr Mohammed Arfath’s family. @IndiainNewYork is in touch with local agencies to ensure thorough investigation into Mr… https://t.co/FRRrR8ZXZ8
— India in New York (@IndiainNewYork) April 9, 2024
“Anguished to learn that Mr. Mohammed Abdul Arfath, for whom search operation was underway, was found dead in Cleveland, Ohio. Our deepest condolences to Mr Mohammed Arfath’s family,” the embassy said in a post on X.
“@IndiainNewYork is in touch with local agencies to ensure thorough investigation into Mr Mohammed Abdul Arfath’s death. We are extending all possible assistance to the bereaved family to transport his mortal remains to India,” it added.
Abdul’s father, it is learnt, had received a ransom call, demanding that he pay $1,200 for his son’s release.
This is the eleventh Indian to die in the US this year. Eight of them were students. The back-to-back deaths have left Indian students in the US and their families in India shocked and worried. According to the US, over 2.6 lakh Indian students migrated to the country in the 2022-2023 session. This was a 35 per cent jump from the previous session.
Of the eight students who have died, 25-year-old Vivek Saini was hammered to death by a homeless drug addict and 27-year-old Venkataramana Pittala died in a watercraft accident. The cause of death of several students is yet to be confirmed.
