Amid mysterious deaths of Indian students in the United States of America, a 25-year-old Indian student from Hyderabad has gone missing from Cleveland area. His family has requested the Ministry of External Affairs to help after they received a ransom call in India. Mohammed Abdul, studying in US is missing since March 7, 2024.
A resident of Hyderabad’s Nacharam, Abdul went to the US to pursue a masters degree in IT from Cleveland University in May 2023. The kidnapper asked for a $1200 ransom and threatened to sell Abdul’s kidney if the amount is not paid. However, the mode of payment was explained.
Abdul’s father, Mohammed Saleem then wrote to the Minister of External Affairs, Subramaniam Jaishankar seeking help from the Indian government. He requested the Central government to take necessary measures to locate and bring his son back home safely.
Sharing the letter and other details of Abdul’s disappearance, the political party Majlis Bachao Tahreek’s spokesperson Amjed Ullah Khan in a post on the social media platform, X wrote “Mohammed Abdul Arfath from the Malkajgiri District in Telangana state pursuing masters in IT from Cleveland University, Ohio, USA is not in touch with his family since March 7, 2024, his father Mohammed Saleem appeals S Jaishankar for help in locating his son. All details attached.
According to the family, Abdul’s father last spoke to him on March 7, 2024. Since then, he is not in touch with his family and his phone is also switched off. Abdul’s roommates in the State said they have lodged a missing complaint with the Cleveland police.
On March 19, 2024, Abduls family received a call claiming that he was allegedly kidnapped by gang that sells drugs. The unidentified person then demanded $1200 to release Abdul. The caller threatened to sell Abdul’s kidneys if the ransom was not paid, the Indian student’s father said.
“Yesterday I got a call from an unknown number and the caller informed me that my son has been kidnapped and demanded money Saleem told an Indian media agency, adding that the caller did not mention his name and mode of payment, just asked to pay the amount. When I asked the caller to allow us to talk to our son, but he refused.
This incident comes days after the police recovered to body of an Indian student dumped in a vehicle deep inside a wooded area. Abhijit Parachuru, an engineering student aged 20 from Andhra Pradesh was studying engineering at Boston University. On March 15, 2024, his remains landed at his home in Guntur. Several students of Indian origin have been killed or found dead under mysterious situations including Vivek Saini, Neel Acharya, Shreyas Reddy, Sameer Kamath and many others in the list.
