Indian Missions ready to help Indian students in US: MEA

Indian Missions ready to help Indian students in US: MEA
New Delhi: The Foreign Office on Friday assured Indian students in the US that the Indian embassy and all its consulates were ready to offer all possible assistance against the backdrop of untimely deaths of at least five of them since the beginning of the year.

“Our consulates are in regular touch. Once the investigations are over, we will know why they died,” said Randhir Jaiswal who was India’s Consul General in New York till late last year. “All possible help is being extended and we have students interacting with the consulates which are also providing guidance. If they face any difficulty, the doors of our embassy and consulate are open for them,” said Jaiswal.
Jaiswal said of the five Indian students who suffered unnatural deaths since the beginning of the year, two are India nationals and the remaining three are of Indian origin but US nationals. The culprit behind Vivek Saini’s murder has been arrested and the local authorities are investigating the matter and taking it forward, he added.

“In the second case (an Indian student studying at the University of Cincinnati), the preliminary report has ruled out foul play but we are waiting for the medical report,” said Jaiswal.

The White House had also taken note of the five unnatural deaths in close succession. “There’s no excuse for violence, certainly based on race or gender or religion or any other factor. That’s just unacceptable here in the US,” said John Kirby, an official at the National Security Council in the White House, last month.