‘Very disconcerted’: Telangana CM raises concerns after attack on Hyderabad student in US

Raising deep concerns, the office of Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Wednesday requested External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to look into the incident. “Very disconcerted to learn of the attack on Syed Mazhar Ali, a student from #Hyderabad, by four robbers in #Chicago. This follows a fatal attack on B. Shreyas Reddy, who was killed in Ohio. I request Hon’ble External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar ji to kindly convey our concerns over safety of our students and citizens living there,” the CM office said in a post on X.

Very disconcerted to learn of the attack on Syed Mazhar Ali, a student from #Hyderabad, by four robbers in #Chicago. This follows a fatal attack on B. Shreyas Reddy, who was killed in Ohio.

I request Hon’ble External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar ji to kindly convey our…

— Telangana CMO (@TelanganaCMO) February 7, 2024

The chief minister added that his government will set up a dedicated help desk for all youth living in USA, and other countries, especially students, to ensure that all their needs are met. “It is my assurance to all citizens of #Telangana – wherever on earth you are – the Congress government is there for you!,” he said.

A video of Syed Mazahir Ali, a master’s degree student at Indiana Wesleyan University, bleeding profusely from his face, seeking help, has been widely shared on social media, along with a CCTV clip of a man being chased by three men with their faces covered.

Meanwhile, the Consulate General of India in Chicago said on X that it was is in touch with Ali and his wife in India  and assured all possible assistance. “The consulate has also contacted the local authorities who are investigating the case,” it said. Ali’s wife Ruqiya Fatima reached out to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, requesting assistance to travel to the US along with their three minor children.

This is the latest in a series of attacks on Indian American students. Five Indian students were found dead in various parts of the country since January. On Monday, Sameer Kamath (23), an Indian-origin student who was pursuing a doctoral degree at Purdue University in Indiana, United States, was found dead. Another student of the university, Neel Acharya, was found dead days after being reported missing on January 28.

Last week, 19-year-old Shreyas Reddy Beniger, also from Telangana and a student at the Lindner School of Business in Ohio State, was found dead. On January 16, 25-year-old Vivek Saini, who had recently earned an MBA degree in the US, was hammered to death by a homeless drug addict in Georgia state’s Lithonia city. Akul B Dhawan, an 18-year-old at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was found dead last month with signs of hypothermia.