Who was the Indian student who died in US? Why was he attacked?

An Indian student, who was attacked at a fitness centre in the United States’ Indiana last month, has reportedly died. Varun Raj Pucha was stabbed with a knife by 24-year-old Jordan Andrade at a public gym in Indiana’s Valparaiso city on 29 October. The Indian man was a resident of Telangana’s Khammam and had left for the US to study in August last year, according to a PTI report. Why was the Indian student attacked? Has there been a rise in hate crimes in the US? Let’s understand better. Indian student stabbed in US Varun Raj Pucha, who was a Computer Science student at Valparaiso University, was stabbed by fellow gymgoer Andrade as he reportedly found him “a little weird”. As per a report in The Times of Northwest Indiana newspaper, Andrade, a resident of Porter Township, said told the police he wanted a massage and as he walked into the massage room at the Planet Fitness club, he found another man sitting. Considering Pucha a “threat”, Andrade “just reacted” by attacking him with a knife. Justifying his assault as defence, the assailant when asked how he used the knife, replied: “Uh, I just put it through”. On where he put the knife, Andrade told the police he does not “even want to say it”, adding “it was in his head”, reported NWI.com. The police said Pucha did not approach Andrade before the attack nor did they speak, but the 24-year-old assailant claimed “someone” had told him the man was threatening. Andrade, who claimed to be a former high school football player, described the victim as “pretty little”. “Officers also spoke with Planet Fitness staff who indicated that (the stabbed man) was a regular gym member and generally kept to himself, was quiet and reserved, nothing indicating that he was ‘creepy,’” the police was quoted as saying by NWI.com. The police arrested Andrade for attempted murder and aggravated battery. Indian student dies in US After the attack, Pucha was taken to a hospital in Fort Wayne. His cousin, Anile Balleboyne, told ABC7 Chicago earlier this week that Pucha’s condition was still “critical” and he was unconscious since the attack. On Wednesday (8 November), the Indian student’s varsity announced he has passed away. “It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of Varun Raj Pucha. Our campus community has lost one of its own, and our thoughts and prayers go out to Varun’s family and friends as we mourn this devastating loss,” PTI quoted the private university as saying.

The university continues to be in contact with Varun’s family, and we will continue to offer assistance and support wherever possible as they navigate this extremely difficult time. We ask that you join us in keeping them in your thoughts and prayers. [2/4]

— Valparaiso University (@ValpoU) November 8, 2023

Offering condolences to the family of the 29-year-old, the university said it will continue to offer them “assistance and support wherever possible as they navigate this extremely difficult time”. According to those who knew Pucha in the US, he was mostly “quiet” and “always focused on his studies” but also enjoyed spending time with his close friends, reported ABC7 Chicago. What we know about hate crimes in US In September, India called for a probe after a footage of Seattle cop laughing and joking about a 23-year-old Indian woman, who was killed by a police patrol vehicle in January this year, was released. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (EBI) recently released Hate Crimes Statistics for 2022. According to the report, the US witnessed 11,643 criminal incidents motivated by bias toward race, ethnicity, ancestry, sexual orientation, religion, disability, gender, and gender identity last year, reported Scroll.in. This is an increase from 10,891 such incidents in 2021. Anti-Black/anti-African-American hate crimes topped the list with 3,424 incidents reported in 2022, followed by bias-motivated incidents against Jews at 1,124. [caption id=“attachment_13370402” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A protest to denounce hate against the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, following the deadly shootings at Young’s Asian Massage in Georgia, in Koreatown in Los Angeles, California, US, in March 2021. Reuters File Photo[/caption] Anti-Asian hate crimes plunged last year to 499 offences as compared to 753 in 2021. According to Scroll.in, the crimes against Asians in the US were mostly driven by COVID-related bias in 2021. Last September, Hindu organisations raised alarms about a rise in hate-crimes against the community. There were several incidents that made headlines last year, including a professor in University of Pennsylvania using slurs for India and derogatory language for Brahmin women. A Sikh man was charged with a hate crime after he abused an Indian-American customer at a California Taco Bell in Fremont. A Mexican-American woman was caught on camera “in a racist rant and assault on women of South Asian descent in a suburban Dallas parking lot”. As per FBI’s report, the US saw 25 anti-Hindu hate offences in 2022, a jump from 12 in 2021. In 2020, there were only 11 “anti-Hindu bias” hate crimes. Out of the nearly 18 per cent of all hate crimes motivated by the victim’s religion in 2022, Jews were targeted the most with 1,124 reported incidents. Sikhs were the second most targeted group with 181 crimes, followed by hate crimes against Muslims at 158. With inputs from agencies