By Ritu Jha-
Praveen Kumar Gampa, an Indian international student at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, killed himself March 4, according to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The medical examiner’s office informed indica that Gampa, 25, shot himself in the head. He was found by a stranger near the water on Bradford Beach at North Lincoln Memorial Drive.
The Indian consulate in Chicago tweeted, “We are saddened by the untimely death of Praveen Kumar Gampa, a master’s in data science student at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The consulate is in contact with Praveen’s family and the university, helping them with all possible support. Our heartfelt condolences and prayers are with his family and friends of the departed.”
In its reply to indica’s queries, the university said, “UWM is heartbroken that graduate student Praveen Kumar Gampa died in an off-campus incident Tuesday. UWM has been providing support to the campus community. Based on FERPA, a federal law that protects student privacy, UWM cannot disclose further information. Questions related to the case should be referred to the Milwaukee Sheriff’s Department and the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office.”
Gampa, a resident of Rangareddy district in Telangana, worked part-time at a local store and was due to earn his degree in two months, his sister G Gayathri had told TOI earlier. Gampa’s father, Gampa Raghavulu learned of the death from his son’s friend.
According to the family, the father had received a WhatsApp call from his son’s phone at 2.55 am, which he couldn’t pick up. He later responded with a voice message, asking his son to call back.
“When we did not receive a reply, we called his number. Someone answered and said they had found my son’s phone,” Raghavulu had told ToI earlier. “They asked for his date of birth, which seemed unusual, so we disconnected the call and reached out to his friends. When I contacted his friends, they told me they had received information that he had gone to a store for a part-time job, and during a robbery, the robbers opened fire. A bullet hit him and he died.”
Gampa’s parents also talked to ANI, again not describing the death as suicide. He said his son, who had visited them in December, had paid all the college fees February 21, having told his parents he needed no money since he had got a loan.
“He spoke to his mother every day and sometimes called me also,” Raghavulu told ANI.
“We appeal to all the parents not to send their children abroad; let them study here,” he told ANI. “My son was doing a job here after his B.Tech. He wanted to do a master’s. He requested his mother, who told me to send him. I appeal to all parents not to send their children to America.”
On Feb 24, a Purdue University graduate student, Bhavana Chandrashekar, died by suicide, the West Lafayette police confirmed to indica.
[CORRECTION: An earlier version of the story had repeated the assertion that Praveen Kumar Gampa was shot dead, and not that he had killed himself. The error is regretted]
[Photo courtesy: Twitter]
