Indian-origin university student killed in US, Korean roommate arrested
Premium20-year-old Indian-origin student named Varun Manish Chheda from Purdue University was killed in US
A 20-year-old Indian-origin student named Varun Manish Chheda, studying at Purdue University was found murdered in his dormitory in the US state of Indiana. His Korean roommate was taken into custody, according to media reports. Reason behind the killing has not been ascertained.
Varun Manish Chheda from Indianapolis was found dead in McCutcheon Hall on the western edge of campus, police said on Wednesday. Another university student was arrested on a murder charge Wednesday, NBC News quoted the school's police chief as saying.
Ji Min “Jimmy" Sha, a junior cybersecurity major and international student from Korea, called 911 around 12:45 am on Wednesday to alert police about the death, Purdue University Police Chief Lesley Wiete said at a news conference Wednesday morning.
Details of the call were not disclosed. Authorities said the incident happened in a room on the first floor of McCutcheon Hall. But several heard his screams on Wednesday
Chheda was studying data science at the university.
Chheda died of "multiple sharp force traumatic injuries," and the manner of death was homicide, according to preliminary autopsy results.
Chief Wiete said she believes the attack was “unprovoked" and “senseless", Fox News reported.
Several university students gathered to mourn Varun's death.
Arunabh Sinha, a childhood friend of Chheda’s, told NBC News that Chheda had been gaming and talking with friends online on Tuesday night when they suddenly heard screaming on the call.
Sinha was not playing with his friends that night, but they told him they heard the attack and didn’t know what happened. They woke up Wednesday morning to news of his death.
Wiete said Sha, 22, was taken into custody minutes after the 911 call and taken to the police station for further investigation.
Chheda's death is Purdue’s first on-campus homicide in more than eight years, police said.
University President Mitch Daniels said Chheda's death was "as tragic an event as we can imagine happening on our campus," adding that "our hearts and thoughts go out to all of those affected by this terrible event."
(With PTI Inputs)
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
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