An Appeal for protection of International Student Security in the United States of America

The entire South Asian community, including all students of Indian origin living in the United States, strongly and unequivocally condemns the dastardly killing of Abhijit Mahato, a Phd student at Duke University, North Carolina, on January 18, 2008. No words are sufficient to express the deep anguish and sorrow at the shocking and cowardly killing of Abhijit. We, the undersigned, express our condolences at the untimely passing away of Abhijit and stand by his bereaved parents and relatives in this solemn hour.

Abhijit Mahato, who hailed from Jamshedpur, was pursuing a Ph.D program in computational mechanics, in the Duke University, North Carolina, since 2006. He was an accomplished and a brilliant scholar who had devoted his academic career in the pursuit of research related to his field of study and specialization. Late on the night of January 18, 2008, Abhijit was found murdered in his apartment in Durham, North Carolina. He was shot in his head from point-blank range resulting in instantaneous death. Nearly 48 hours after the killing, the Durham police are yet to find any clues on the motive of the murder or the suspected assailant(s).

This incident has occurred roughly 5 weeks after the Louisiana State University Student Killings. Under these circumstances, the Indian students community across the United States in general and of Duke University in particular, are baffled by the apparent apathy of the police and the school authorities toward this ghastly and brutal killing of another Indian student. Abhijit and his shocked family members deserve, if nothing, at least a truthful, unbiased, and transparent investigation into this case of homicide.

The entire South Asian community, including all students of Indian origin living in the United States, makes these following observations and respectfully demands:

1) An efficient, transparent and expedited investigation into Abhijits murder and bringing to justice the culprits.

2) Ensure full protection to students of South Asian origin living and studying at Duke University, North Carolina.

3) Dispatching advisories to all universities across the United States to ensure the complete safety of all students of South Asian origin pursuing under-graduate or graduate studies in the universities.

4) Ensuring that all school authorities follow and impose existing gun laws and restrictions and ensure safety and security of both international and domestic students on campuses.

5) Increasing safety precautions for the international student community who are particularly vulnerable in their living arrangements in a foreign country.

Please join hands and support this petition.