New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday condemned the deaths of Indian students in the US and said that the cause of their deaths was more than one, adding that the investigations of two recent cases are underway, with Indian authorities taking up the issue with the concerned authorities in the US.
The MEA spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal while addressing the weekly press briefing on Friday, highlighted the unfortunate deaths of Indian students in the US. “Two of them passed away, while the deaths of both national students are under investigation. We have reached out to the consulates and they have extended all possible help. Hopefully, we will come to know more about the reasons…,” Jaiswal said.
Mentioning the data, Randhir Jaiswal said that some 10 Indian students have passed away since January. “Since January, there have been some 10 Indian students who have passed away. One was a case of homicide which was registered against a vagrant person. This was the most unfortunate of Vivek Saini. Then, there was a case in which the victim was shot at,” he said.
“These two cases are being investigated from the point of law and order. We are pushing very hard. Our consulates and our mission in the US have strengthened the student outreach so that they can convey how they should take care of themselves and…what all the help consulates and embassy can provide,” he added. Moreover, Jaiswal said that there are multiple reasons behind these deaths.
“Several deaths have happened, not because of one reason, they are multicausal in nature,” Jaiswal highlighted. He further said that there are also some community issues apart from law and order concerns. “There are several other issues beyond justice and law and order matters that also need to be looked into…there are also some community issues, there are cases of which have happened on account of suicide and other mental illness related issues,” he said.
“That’s why we want to reach out to the student community and provide them comfort,” he said, adding that they also have a large Indian student community in the US. Earlier this week, Mohammed Abdul Arfath, a native of Hyderabad, who had been missing since March, was found dead in the US state of Ohio, the Consulate General of India in New York confirmed.
It said that all possible assistance is being extended to the bereaved family to transport his mortal remains to India. Moreover, the MEA spokesperson also highlighted US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s visit to India next week. He added that US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell will be visiting India.
“Their visit will be announced as and when we learn about it. We will inform about what the agenda is, what exactly we have to offer and as far as India-US talks with these two distinguished visitors,” he said. Moreover, US NSA Jake Sullivan will be visiting with plans to focus on reviewing progress under the Initiative for Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) with his counterpart Ajit Doval, people familiar with the development told ANI earlier today.
President Biden’s top national security aide will be in New Delhi on April 17 and is scheduled to have meetings on April 18. The top-level engagement will focus on the India-US relationship, “compare notes on the Indo-Pacific” and also talk about “next steps in technology cooperation,” a senior White House official told reporters in Washington.
