Help Sujith

We would like to bring to your notice Sujith Venkatramollas current legal situation and request you, as a member of the Indian Community, to assist us in presenting his case so as to plead for a minimal sentence.

It is heart-moving story; a diligent Gold medallist student is behind bars in the USA for an act he never imagined he would do in his lifetime. Like most other immigrants who make their way to the United States, Sujith had dreamed of living the American dream, going to the extent of borrowing a great deal of money to make his dream possible. But his dreams and his future have now been shattered by this one unfortunate incident.

Sujith Venkatramolla, a 22-year-old graduate student, was arrested at the University of Missouri-Rolla. The incident started when Venkatramolla brandished a knife and showed a bag, which he said contained a bomb. He also claimed to have anthrax. At that point he was subdued with a taser gun and taken into custody.

By the end of the day it was clear that the bomb threat and the anthrax scare were bogus, part of an elaborate attempt at a police-assisted suicide. There was no bomb and the substance thought to be anthrax was powdered sugar. Phelps County Prosecuting Attorney Courtney George had filed six felony charges against Venkatramolla.

Rollas mayor, William S. Jenks III said at a press conference, quote :the bomb threat and the anthrax scare turned out to be false by days end.

Law enforcement officials questioned Venkatramollas roommates who were living with him in an off-campus apartment. Although his roommates were interviewed, police believe Venkatramolla, who they describe as a distraught and depressed student, was acting alone. It is believed that Sujith has been distraught over schoolwork is chronically depressed. Sujith was supposedly upset after receiving the first two B grades ever in his career so far, and was falling behind in his classes due to ill health.

This is a compelling story. Even before this incident, Sujith has been struggling with chronic depression. First accounts of information show that Sujith's reaction was more of an emotional breakdown.

After lengthy conversations with Sujith's brother, Bhuvith, about this incident and their family background we learnt that Sujith has always been a hardworking and very friendly student. He is a Gold medallist in Deccan Engineering College, Hyderabad, India. His family comes from a middle class income background.

Sujiths father passed away when Sujith was in his 8th grade. His brother Bhuvith took over the family responsibilities while in his 10th grade. He worked hard to guide his family and helped his brother get through Engineering degree course. They have had to incur huge debts to send Sujith for a higher education in the United States (through bank loans and personal borrowings from relatives and friends). Sujith has been in the US for a little over 6 months now.

A look at some of the e-mails that Sujith sent to his friends before the incident reveals that he was emotionally troubled and might have been suffering from chronic depression. He even attempted to commit suicide on more than one occasion when he found himself helpless. He thought a lot about his family situation and the burden he brought on the family through financial expenses incurred for his education. His family is in a dire financial state now.

At this juncture, this family needs emotional, financial and legal support and guidance. A Defense Attorney has already been assigned to deal with this case. However, having legal guidance and support from within the Indian community will help us to coordinate with defense team in the right way. I sincerely appeal to all members to do your part in supporting a member of our community financially or otherwise. This would be a major challenge to this great group of people and an opportunity to help our own community member in best possible ways. Let us join hands to make a difference.

Based on interactions with the legal team, the best option would be to involve Indian, local and central government officials to hand over this case to Indian Embassy officials in Washington, D.C. We appeal to Indian diplomats and political leaders to act swiftly to rescue this misguided young student.

One of the senior Indian community member had to say following: I have advised the Family at the onset of this incident to approach the Ministry of External affairs in India so they would direct and advise the Embassy here to represent or they can advise to approach the State department and the Department of Homeland Security, who have the right to ask the Attorney General of the state to look all the circumstance of the case and request the court to evaluate the subjects mental health. If no objections are posed by the government, the judge can cancel the case if both parties agree to suspend the charges, and victim can voluntarily leave the country in stipulated time under supervision .

Sujith's Brother Bhuvith Kumar can be reached at follow Email/Phone Directly: Email Address: [email protected] & India Phone: +91 9885440444

Please contact following people in USA for donations and/or contributions for this family: Parmesh Bheem Reddy (1-908-240-4562 , [email protected]), Rayadas Manthena (1-603-219-3462 , [email protected]), Sharath Vemula (1-585-576-4618 , [email protected]), & Buchanna Gajula(1-510-673-7399 , [email protected]).

We have been closely working with family members and defense attorney about the situation. We will keep you all posted with the developments from time to time.

We thank you all for your direct or indirect support with this situation. Please do the needed help.