Family members of a deceased student from Telangana, Arukonda Rajesh, who went for higher studies in the US, have sought assistance from the Indian government to repatriate his mortal remains.
Rajesh, 32, was found dead in Mississippi under mysterious circumstances. His family was informed by a friend in the US. They said that Rajesh was in a coma for two days before passing away on August 15.
Rajesh’s family hailing from Atmakur village in Warangal district sought assistance because of financial constraints. Rajesh’s father had recently passed away. Due to financial issues, he was unable to attend his father’s funeral. His mother and sister are requesting the Telangana and Indian governments to help them bring Rajesh’s body back to India for final rites. The Telangana govt has written to the Indian embassy in Washington and the Union Ministry of External Affairs to help coordinate with the local authorities and the hospital to send the mortal remains of Rajesh to Telangana as requested by the family.
“My son Rajesh went to America for higher studies in 2016. We took a loan to support his education. We are still unaware of the circumstances surrounding his death. He last spoke with me on August 10. We are struggling to figure out how to bring my son Rajesh’s body back from America, and I humbly request the Central government and Telangana government to assist in bringing his body as soon as possible,” Neelamma, mother of the deceased student said.
The sister of Rajesh, Rama Devi said that Rajesh had not visited India for the past six years because of financial constraints. “My brother completed his B Pharmacy degree here before moving to America in 2016 to pursue his MS. He returned to India after a year but went back to the US after a month. For the past six years, we have been asking him when he would come back to India, but he would say that his financial situation was not good and that he didn’t have the money. Even when our father passed away 10 months ago, Rajesh couldn’t attend the funeral due to financial constraints, and my husband had to perform the final rites. We received the news of my brother’s death on August 15 from his friend. As we are unable to afford the costs of bringing his body, I humbly request the Central government and Telangana state government to assist in bringing my brother’s body back to India,” Rama Devi said.
