Another Indian student has gone missing in the US, this time from Chicago. Reports say Rupesh Chintakindi, a student pursuing a master’s degree from Concordia University in Wisconsin, is a resident of Sheridan Road in Chicago.
His father Sadanandam, who lives in Hanamkonda district in Telangana, last communicated with Rupesh over Whatsapp on May 2. “He replied he was doing some work. Later on I could not contact him.”
His roommates told the father, that Rupesh had gone to Texas to meet someone. “We do not know who they are,” the family said.
India’s Consulate General in Chicago said it was in touch with the local police and the Indian diaspora and “hoping to locate/establish contact with Rupesh.”
The Chicago Police have issued a public notice urging anybody with information about Rupesh to come forward.
This year alone, 10 Indian students have died or been killed and several others have been attacked. Recently, Abdul Arfath was found dead in Cleveland, Ohio, with the Indian Consulate in New York confirming his death. There is no word on who his assailants were.
Earlier in March, trained classical dancer Amarnath Ghosh, was shot dead in St Louis, Missouri. The previous month Sameer Kamath studying at Purdue University was found dead in a nature preserve in Indiana. That same month, Vivek Taneja an IT executive, was assaulted outside a restaurant in Washington. And in January, Akul Dhawan studying at the University of Illinois, was found lying unresponsive outside a campus building. Police say he died of hypothermia.
The lack of breakthrough in police investigations is particularly concerning to the families back in India, seeking closure. It adds to the tensions of other families who have children studying in the US, or those preparing to go there for higher studies. At the last count, there were over three lakh Indian students in the US.
