Indian-Origin Student at Purdue University 'Died by Suicide': Coroner's Office

Twenty-three-year-old Sameer Kamath, who was discovered dead in a nature preserve on Monday evening, reportedly died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

(Representationl photo)

Twenty-three-year-old Sameer Kamath, who was discovered dead in a nature preserve on Monday evening, reportedly died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Kamath had received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and had enrolled at Purdue in 2021. He completed his master’s degree in the same field from Purdue University in August 2023.

Warren County Coroner Justin Brummett said Kamath's body was found around 5 pm.

Brummett reportedly said in a press release, "The preliminary cause of death is a "gunshot wound of the head" and Kamath died by “suicide"." A forensic autopsy was performed on Kamath.

“Through extensive investigation by the Warren County Coroner's Office in conjunction with multiple other local and federal agencies, we are now able to release a preliminary cause and manner of death," the release said. A toxicology report is still pending.

News of Kamath’s death makes it the second Indian-origin student’s death at Purdue University in less than 10 days and five such incidents in three weeks.

On 30 January, Neel Acharya, a computer science double major student at Purdue University, was reported missing by his mother on social media platform X, and a day later, Neel was confirmed dead, according to the Tippecanoe County Coroner. The cause of his death is still unknown, and police officials in West Lafayette, in the US state of Indiana, have launched a probe to investigate what led to the deaths.