Indian student shot dead in Chicago mall, just months after moving to U.S.

CHICAGO (Diya TV) — A 22-year-old student from Telangana, India, was fatally shot at a shopping mall in Chicago on Friday. The victim, Sai Teja Nukarapu, had moved to the United States just three months ago to pursue a master’s degree.

Nukarapu was working at a cash counter in a shopping mall when armed men stormed into the place, fired shots, and robbed the money from the register. Nukarapu was dead by the time emergency services reached the scene.

The incident has shocked the Indian community at home and in India, where his family was deeply distressed to know of his sudden death. Nukarapu was a postgraduate student having completed a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in India and was further pursuing a Masters in Business Administration in the U.S.

The death of the Telangana student occurred just a week after another student from the region, Aryan Reddy, died in Atlanta, Georgia, when he accidentally discharged his firearm on his 23rd birthday. He had been studying in the U.S. for one year.

The recent violent incidents involving Indian students in the U.S. have set alarm bells ringing within the Indian diaspora. Consular officials have condoled the bereaved families and extended all support to them.

According to U.S. consular data, India now leads China as the highest sender of students to American universities for the 2023-24 academic year. Among Indian students in the U.S., 56 percent hail from the southern states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with Telangana making up 34 percent of them.

“We’ve seen a significant increase in student visa applications,” said Rebekah Drame, the U.S. consular chief in Hyderabad. “This summer, we conducted over 47,000 student visa interviews, up from 35,000 the previous year.”Public Affairs Officer Alexander McLaren also highlighted that India sent nearly 330,000 students to the U.S. last year, with most pursuing master’s degrees.

Nukarapu’s death is in the context of this wave of students traveling abroad for higher education, many from rural districts in India. His body is being brought back to Telangana by his family in coordination with officials from both India and the U.S. The case remains under investigation by the Chicago Police Department, which urges anyone with information on the incident to come forward.