19-year-old Indian-American student found dead in US, second case this week

On Shreyas Reddy's death, the Consulate General of India in New York has ruled out foul play according to the initial information available

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An Indian-American student, Shreyas Reddy Benigeri, was found dead in the US state of Ohio on Thursday, making it the fourth case in America this year.

While the US police are investigating the matter, the authorities have ruled out foul play according to the initial information available.

The Consulate General of India in New York, on Thursday, expressed grief on the death of the 19-year-old student and said they were monitoring the developments.

"Deeply saddened by the unfortunate demise of Mr Shreyas Reddy Benigeri…The Consulate continues to remain in touch with the family and is extending all possible assistance to them," the Consulate said in a post on X.

Shreyas studied Business Statistics at the Lindner School of Business, Cincinnati.

Prior to that, he did his B.Tech from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani in Rajasthan, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Three more similar cases happened in US this year

The incident follows days after another Indian-origin student, Neel Acharya, was found dead on January 29 near the airport of Purdue University, where he studied. The authorities had ruled out any foul play in his death. According to them, the autopsy revealed no signs of trauma on Acharya's body.

On January 16, 25-year-old Vivek Saini, an Indian-American, was fatally attacked in Georgia state's Lithonia city by a homeless drug addict.

In a similar incident, 18-year-old Indian-American student, Akul B Dhawan, was found dead outside the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) recently. Dhawan reportedly went missing in the early hours of January 20 and was found dead 10 hours later. His parents have blamed the school for negligence.

However, according to the authorities no foul play was suspected in Dhawan's death, which they ruled as "accidental."

Indian-Americans make 1 per cent of the US population

Though Indian-Americans represent around 1 per cent of the US population at around 4 million, their political visibility is far more.

Notably, as many as 130 Indian-Americans are appointed in key positions in the Joe Biden administration.

Additionally, 268,923 Indian students studied at various US institutions in the academic year 2022-23, according to a 2023 report. Indian students represent more than 20 per cent of international students currently in the US.