Indian-origin student killed in US

Washington, Oct 06: An Indian-origin student has been killed in his dormitory in the US state of Indiana. His Korean roommate was taken into custody has been taken into custody on a preliminary murder charge, police said.

Varun Manish Chheda, the victim, who was studying at Purdue University, was found dead in McCutcheon Hall on the western edge of campus.

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.

The incident took place in a room on the first floor of McCutcheon Hall on the campus in West Lafayette, which is about 104 kilometers northwest of Indianapolis.

Chheda, who was studying data science at the university, 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.

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