Indian student stabbed at gym in US, condition critical

PTI, Nov 1, 2023, 7:23 PM IST

Representative image (source: Dreamstime)

Washington DC: A 24-year-old Indian student was stabbed by a man at a public gym in Valparaiso city in the US state of Indiana and is said to be in a critical condition, according to a media report.

P Varun Raj, a Computer Science student, was stabbed with a knife into the temple by the assailant Jordan Andrade, 24, at the public gym on Sunday morning for reasons that the authorities are still investigating, reported NWI Times.

Following the incident, the attacker was arrested and is facing charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and attempted murder.

”Varun was attacked with a knife by his attacker. He was ultimately taken to a Fort Wayne hospital due to the severity of his injury and was reportedly given a zero to five per cent chance of survival. Varun’s condition is said to be serious after the violent attack,” the report said.

The attacker told the police that he had requested a massage that morning and walked into the massage room to find the other man, whom he did not know but found ”a little weird.” Determining the other man posed a threat, Andrade said he made sure to react the ”right way,” according to a charging document.

”Andrade then described (the man) as a threat to him so he, ‘just reacted,”’ police said.

Police said they walked into the massage chair room to find a large amount of blood on one of two chairs and a folding knife on the counter that reportedly belonged to Andrade.

Andrade, who has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery, is scheduled to appear before Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer on Wednesday.

The victim’s father P Ram Murthy, a teacher in Telangana’s Khammam, on Wednesday told PTI : ”We got information from my son’s roommate that he (my son) has been attacked by one person and that he has been admitted to a hospital and that his condition is critical”.

Varun had been pursuing MS in Computer Science and left for the US in August 2022. He was expected to return home (Khammam) after completion of his course next year, his family said.

”We want justice for our child,” Varun’s aunt said, adding that the attacker should be handed stern punishment.

She further expressed concern on such attacks taking place on students who go from here.