By IANS
New York : An Indian student doing research at an engineering college in North Carolina has been found shot dead in his apartment. The incident comes less than two months after two Indian scholars were shot dead in another US campus.
The body of Abhijeet Mahato, 29, an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur alumnus doing his Ph.D. at the Dukes Pratt School of Engineering, Durham, was found Friday night at an off-campus apartment complex by his friends and colleagues.
The Durham police were quoted as saying they did not yet have a motive for the shooting by unidentified gunmen. No arrests were made so far.
Two Indian doctoral students, Chandrasekhar Reddy Komma and Kiran Kumar Allam, were shot dead five weeks ago in the Louisiana State University (LSU), Baton Rouge. In that case too, the police have yet to find a motive or arrest any suspects.
“We’re shocked about the why, why, why of it,” Leela Prasad, Duke’s associate professor of ethics and Indian religion, was quoted as saying. “Right after the LSU murders, this senseless attack is hard to digest.”
Mahato, described by his friends as an outgoing student who was seldom seen without a smile, was born in Tatanagar and raised in Kolkata. He did his Bachelor in Engineering from Jadavpur University and M. Tech. from IIT Kanpur.
He was at the GE Global Research Centre in Bangalore for two years before coming to Duke.
Larry Moneta, vice president for student affairs at Duke, said: “This is a tragic circumstance, and we are doing everything possible to assist those who may be affected by it.”
He added that students were informed of the incident via an email Saturday morning.