Racial Killing in the US: Missing Indian student Mohammed Arfath found dead; 11th such case in 2024

A 25-year-old Indian student missing since last month was found dead in Cleveland, United States of America. The death of Mohammad Abdul Arfath, who hails from Hyderabad, is the second such incident within a week and 11th in the year 2024. Arfath’s death was confirmed by an Indian consulate in New York.

“Anguished to learn that Mohammad Abdul Arfath for whom such a search operation was underway was found dead in Cleveland, Ohio”, the Consulate General of India in New York tweeted. The consulate said that it was in touch with local agencies in the US and to ensure thorough investigation into the death of the Cleveland University student.

“We are extending all possible assistance to the bereaved family to transport his mortal remains to India,” the consulate further said. Arfath had arrived in the US in May 2023 to pursue a Masters in Information technology from Cleveland University. The 25-year-old went missing around March 7, 2024. His father said he lost his contact with Arfath since then and his phone was also switched off as well.

On March 19, 2024 Arfath’s family received a ransom call and was told that he had been kidnapped by a gang selling drugs a demanded 1200 USD for his release. The caller was also threatened to sell the students kidney if the ransom was not paid, Arfath’s father said.

“I got a call from an unknown number and the caller informed me that my son was kidnapped and demanded money. The caller did not mention the mode of payment, but just asked to pay the amount. When I asked the caller to allow us to talk to my son, he refused,” Arfath’s father told an Indian media agency.

On March 21, the Indian consulate had said it was coordinating with local law enforcement authorities to locate Arfath. The student’s family had also written to the Ministry OF External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar requesting him to locate and find bring back Arfath to India.

This is the 11th such incident in the United States involving Indian students or Indian origin students. Last week, an Indian student in Ohio, Uma Satya Gadde died. The alarming rise in the number of attacks has caused concern among the Indian-American community.