Indian Students Killed in US: Justice Evades Amarnath Ghosh

In recent months, there has been an alarming escalation in the number of Indian students brutally murdered in the U.S. These incidents are on the rise, yet, regrettably, the U.S. government's response has been lacklustre, with little substantial action taken to address these serious issues. We previously discussed the horrifying case of Vivek Saini, an Indian student who was bludgeoned over 50 times with a hammer and killed on January 16th of this year. 

Today, we share the equally tragic story of Amarnath Ghosh, who vanished from a street corner in St. Louis on February 27th. His body was later found, riddled with multiple gunshot wounds. The cases of Vivek Saini and Amarnath Ghosh exhibit a disturbing pattern: U.S. police authorities merely file a case, a lawyer is appointed by the court, the family receives minimal information, and disturbingly, the investigations do not consider racial motives.

The Probe spoke with Suroshri Ghosh, cousin of Amarnath Ghosh, who narrated the deep impact of the tragedy on the family. Amarnath was an only child, and with the deaths of both of his parents in the past three years, the family finds itself in a desperate situation. Suroshri lamented that there was no one else remaining in the family to advocate for justice for Amarnath. "You won’t find a gem like him anywhere. With both of Amarnath’s parents gone and now losing him, the grief is immeasurable.”  Suroshri, whose father and Amarnath's father are brothers, said that the family's limited financial resources have made it impossible for them to fight for justice for Amarnath in the U.S. 

A Dancer Par Excellence

Amarnath hailed from the Birbhum district of West Bengal and was enrolled in a Masters program in Performing Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. A distinguished performer in Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, Amarnath had dedicated his life to dance, a pursuit marked by passion and accolade. His talent was recognised with several prestigious awards, including a National Scholarship for Kuchipudi from India's Ministry of Culture, the Nadana Sigamani Award from the Cambodian government, a letter of recognition from the Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, among others. Tragically, India has lost a profoundly gifted young artist. Equally distressing is the current neglect of his case, with no apparent efforts to track down or bring his assailants to justice. 

Amarnath's family remains in the dark regarding the legal proceedings of his case in the U.S. They were informed by the Indian embassy in Chicago that after having dinner and taking a walk, Amarnath was randomly targeted and fatally shot by three individuals, as captured by CCTV. The Indian embassy informed his family that his body was discovered one and a half days after the incident, which occurred on the 27th. The family only received the devastating news on the 29th. “We were told that one suspect has been arrested reportedly with a criminal history. But the whereabouts and identities of the other two assailants are still not known. We have no clue who has been arrested or what is happening with regard to this case in the U.S,” rues Suroshri. 

Justice Evades Ghosh

What compounds the tragedy is the perceived apathy from the Indian government towards the incident. The extent of their involvement was limited to a single phone call to inform the family of Amarnath's murder. Suroshri recounts, "We only got a call from the embassy when they informed us about this incident. We have not received any communication from the Ministry of External Affairs. We were asked by the Indian embassy what we wished to do with Amarnath’s mortal remains and we told them that we wished to have his mortal remains returned to India for last rites. But then the embassy told us that this procedure would cost us a lot of money. Fortunately, an NGO, TEAM Aid, stepped in to cover the expenses and we finally could carry out his last rites in his hometown back in India”. 

The Probe reached out to Mohan Nannapaneni from TEAM Aid, the NGO instrumental in repatriating Amarnath's mortal remains to India. Nannapaneni shared, "As of now, we only have information that one person, Glenn Bailey, has been arrested in connection with the case, and the trial is ongoing. We don’t have any more details." He described his role as primarily coordinating with the family to transport Amarnath’s body back to India for the last rites. He emphasised that TEAM Aid's primary mission is to provide emergency assistance, handling an average of two deaths per day. "We are a nonprofit organisation and we do not have the bandwidth as an organisation to follow-up on each case legally," he stated. 

Media reports indicate that the St. Louis police have charged Glenn Bailey with first-degree murder, identifying him as one of the three suspects involved in the killing of Amarnath. However, the status of the other two suspects remains unclear. Additionally, U.S. media have reported that Bailey confessed to police his involvement in local drug dealings.

Amarnath's family, back in India, is unable to pursue legal action due to financial and geographical barriers, coupled with a lack of support from the Indian government. Suroshri expressed the family's predicament, "We have not appointed any lawyer. We have not lodged any case. For us, the distance is a huge problem. We don’t know how to go about it. We have not received any other information from the US authorities so far. We want Dada to get justice. All the perpetrators of this crime should get the strictest punishment possible". 

What is striking is Suroshri’s admission that the Indian embassy itself had claimed that there could be racial motives behind the killing of Amarnath. "We were told by the embassy itself that this could be racism also. We don’t know why someone did this. I have no clue. We are speechless and helpless.”

This year alone, about a dozen cases of Indian students deaths in the U.S. have been reported. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has expressed concern over these rising fatalities of Indian students and has noted that Indian embassies in the U.S. are advising students on areas to avoid due to safety concerns. However, families who have lost loved ones to such brutal murders argue that it is imperative for the Indian government to engage more robustly with the U.S. government on these matters. The families want the government to push for investigations into possible racial motives and hate crimes behind these gruesome acts. 

Furthermore, individuals like Amarnath, who lack advocates to pursue justice on their behalf, require proactive support from the Indian government. Families of Indian students are also calling for consistent updates about case proceedings. While Minister Jaishankar asserts that "every Indian going out, you have Modi's guarantee," families contend that more than political assurances, what they need is substantive action. The loss of Indian lives to overseas nightmares demands decisive action and justice, not mere political rhetoric.

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