Who was Vivek Saini, Indian student who died after being hammered 50 times in the US?

He lost his life because he chose kindness over cruelty. He was helping a homeless man, but the day he stopped, the man brutally killed him. The victim of this American gruesome story was an Indian student. The heinous murder was captured on tape, showing the suspect — Juan Faulkner — hitting Vivek Saini with a hammer nearly 50 times. Here’s all we know about the incident and the Indian student. All about the victim Vivek Saini Vivek Saini was a 25-year-old Indian student who immigrated to the United States over two years ago in search of a “decent job and better opportunities to support his family living in Haryana,” according to India Today. A resident of Panchkula’s Bhagwanpur village in Haryana, he had completed his Bachelor’s in Computer Science from Chandigarh University. Saini moved to the US to pursue his studies further. As per Hindustan Times, he was enrolled for the Master’s degree in Business Administration at the Alabama University. According to his cousin, Simran, who spoke with India Today, he was a “brilliant student,” and was working part time at the Chevron Food Mart at Snapfinger and Cleveland Road in Georgia’s Lithonia. The Indian student was supposed to leave for India to meet his family before the horrific incident took place. The gruesome murder Saini was killed by a 53-year-old homeless man whom he had been helping for several days. The accused, Julian Faulkner, had been offered a shelter at the store by the employees. The incident took place on 16 January when Saini asked Faulkner to leave the convenience store. One of the employees told WSB-TV, “He asked us for chips and coke. We gave him everything including the water. He asked if I could get a blanket. I said we don’t have blankets so I gave him a jacket. He was walking in and out asking him for cigarettes, water and everything. He was sitting here all the time and we never asked him to get out because we know that it’s cold.” However, on Monday night, Saini asked Faulkner that he must leave or else he would call the police. When he was getting ready to go home, the old man attacked him with a hammer. “(Faulkner) kept on hitting for almost 50 times on the face on the head,” one of the coworkers told the local news channel. According to the report, the 25-year-old suffered “severe head trauma” and was pronounced dead at the scene. While speaking to India Today, Saini’s cousin Simran said, “Saini used to work in a store, and for the last many days, the person identified as Vivek’s killer used to come to the store and beg for cigarettes. Saini used to give him cigarettes, but on that day, he refused and said he would call the police if the man came to annoy them again. Later, he came with a hammer and cold-bloodedly killed my brother.” The DeKalb County police informed that the officers received a call at around midnight about the attack at the Chevron gas station in Lithonia. When the cops arrived, Faulkner was standing over the Saini’s blood-covered body with a hammer in his hand. He complied when he was ordered to put the weapon down and was then arrested. According to Fox News Digital, the police also recovered two knives and one more hammer from Faulkner. The Miami Herald reported that the cops found a “substantial amount of blood spatter” on the floor of the store. As per media reports, one of Saini’s coworkers was so petrified that he could hardly speak. According to News18, Faulkner is currently in custody on charges of malice, murder, and interference with government property. Saini’s body was returned to India, where the last rites were performed, HT reported. His grieving parents, Gurjeet Singh and Lalita Saini, are coping with the profound loss. India condemns the murder The Consulate General of India in Atlanta expressed deep anguish on 29 January over the “brutal and heinous” murder of the Indian citizen in Georgia. “We are deeply anguished by the terrifying, brutal, and heinous incident that led to the death of Indian national/student Vivek Saini and condemn (the) attack in the strongest terms. It is understood that the US authorities have arrested the accused and are investigating the case,” said the Consulate General of India in Atlanta.

We are deeply anguished by the terrifying, brutal, & heinous incident that led to the death of 🇮🇳 National/student Mr Vivek Saini & condemns attack in the strongest terms. It is understood that the US authorities have arrested the accused & are investigating the case. 1/2

— India in Atlanta (@CGI_Atlanta) January 29, 2024

It added, “The Consulate got in touch with the family of Saini immediately after the incident, provided all consular assistance in sending the mortal remains back to India and remains in touch with the family.” Another Indian student found dead Another heart-wrenching incident has left the Indian student community in America shattered. Neel Acharya, who had been reportedly missing since 28 January, was found dead by the Tippecanoe County Coroner’s Office on Sunday, according to NDTV. The officials were called around 11.30 am on 29 January to 500 Allison Road in West Lafayette for a possible “college-aged male” dead body. Acharya was a double major in computer science and data science at the John Martinson Honors College of Purdue University. Similar crimes against Indian students in US In October 2023, a 24-year-old Indian student, identified as Varun Raj Pucha , was stabbed in the head by Jordan Andrade, 24, at a fitness centre in Indiana. He succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at a hospital a few days later. 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, 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.” In November, another student named Aaditya Adlakha , pursuing a PhD at the University of Cincinnati Medical School was shot dead in his car in Ohio. The 26-year-old succumbed to his injuries two days after he was discovered with several gunshot wounds inside a vehicle that had slammed into a wall in Western Hills, a neighbourhood in Ohio’s Cincinnati, on 9 November. The police found at least three bullet holes in the driver’s side window. In recent years, there has been a dramatic jump in the crimes against Indian students in the US. Last year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (EBI) released Hate Crimes Statistics for 2022. The report suggests America witnessed 11,643 criminal incidents motivated by bias toward race, ethnicity, ancestry, sexual orientation, religion, disability, gender, and gender identity last year, as per Scroll. This is a rise 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. Anti-Asian hate crimes plunged last year to 499 offences as compared to 753 in 2021. According to Livemint, experts believe the crimes are rising due to the growing economic insecurity among the local population amid dismal rate growth in North American countries. With inputs from agencies