Student of Indian Descent Missing for Three Weeks Found Deceased

April 9 :
Tragically, after three weeks of being missing in the US, the body of Mohammad Abdul Arfath, an Indian student from Hyderabad, was found in Ohio. In 2023, Arfath moved to the United States to attend Cleveland University.

The news of Arfath's death has been confirmed by the Indian consulate in New York. Sad to hear that a search operation for Mohammed Abdul Arfath in Cleveland, Ohio, proved unsuccessful. The Indian news agency @IndiainNewYork has reached out to local authorities in an effort to secure a comprehensive investigation into the murder of Mr. Mohammed Abdul Arfath. Our sincerest sympathies go out to his loved ones. We are offering our utmost support to the grieving family as they arrange for the transfer of his body to India," it stated in an X post.

The death of Abdul is the latest in a string of tragedies affecting American students of Indian or Indian-origin. He becomes the eleventh Indian to pass away in the United States in 2024; eight of those people were students.

Uma Satya Sai Gadde passed away in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 5, according to the Indian Consulate. Another Indian student in Boston, Abhijeeth Paruchuru, had died on March 18 before that. A homeless drug addict murdered 25-year-old Vivek Saini, and a watercraft accident killed 27-year-old Venkataramana Pittala, two of the eight students who have died. The authorities have not yet determined what killed a number of other students.