20-year-old Indian-American student killed in US, roommate held

A 20-year-old Indian-American student, Varun Manish Chheda, at US's Purdue University, was killed in his dorm room by his roommate, who has been arrested on a preliminary murder charge, police said.

Varun Manish Chheda, a 20-year-old Indian-American student at Purdue University in the United States, was killed in his dorm room by his roommate, who has been arrested on a preliminary murder charge, according to authorities. Ji Min Sha, a 22-year-old junior cybersecurity major from Seoul, South Korea, has been held as the prime suspect in the case, Purdue Police Chief Lesley Wiete said.

Wiete referred to the crime as "unprovoked and senseless." According to early autopsy results, Chheda died of "several sharp force traumatic injuries," and the manner of death was murder, according to media report.

According to a university official, a 911 call was received by the Purdue University Police Department at 12:44 a.m. on Wednesday from McCutcheon Hall on the campus's western side. Sha initiated the phone call.

Purdue University President Mitch Daniels stated in a statement that the Purdue University Police Department is investigating the event thoroughly. 

"This is as tragic an event as we can imagine happening on our campus and our hearts and thoughts go out to all of those affected by this terrible event... I assure you that the safety and security of our students is the single highest priority on our campus," Daniels added in his statement.

According to the University, this was Purdue's first on-campus homicide since January 2014. According to the Indianapolis Star, Chheda was only 10 days away from turning 21. He graduated from Park Tudor High School in 2020 and was a National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalist the same year.