A 20-year old Indian-origin student was killed in his dormitory in the Indiana province of the United States after which his South Korean roommate was taken into custody, reported news agency PTI citing media reports. Varun Manish Chheda, a student at Purdue University from Indiana was found dead in McCutcheon Hall on the western edge of campus, police said on Wednesday, reported the news agency.
Another university student was arrested on a murder charge Wednesday, stated the report citing NBC News which quoted school’s police chief as saying.
Ji Min “Jimmy” Sha, a 22-year-old 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.
According to the authorities, the incident happened in a room on the first floor of McCutcheon Hall on the campus in West Lafayette, which is about 104 kilometres northwest of Indianapolis.
A data science student at the university, Chheda died of “multiple sharp force traumatic injuries” revealed the autopsy report adding that the manner of death was homicide.
Chief Wiete said she believes the attack was “unprovoked” and “senseless", Fox News reported.
A childhood friend of Chheda, Arunabh Sinha told NBC News that had been gaming and talking with friends on Tuesday night when suddenly his friends heard him screaming on call, stated the report. Sinha, who was not playing with his friends that night, recalled his friends telling him that they heard the attack but did not know what had happened.
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Wiete said Sha was taken into custody minutes after the 911 call and taken to the police station for further investigation. He has not been formally charged.
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.”