Abhijit Mahato (pictured left), a Ph.D. engineering candidate from India, was found shot to death at an apartment complex in the 1600 block of Anderson Street, several blocks south of the Duke University campus in Durham, at about 11:30 p.m. Friday January 18.
The local police said they do not yet have a motive for the shooting. Their investigation is continuing. Whenever more information will be shared as it becomes available.
Mahato, originally from Tatangar, India, was studying for an engineering doctorate degree focused on computational mechanics at Duke's Pratt School of Engineering. He earned his mechanical engineering degree from Jadavpur University in 2001 and a master of technology degree from the Indian Institute for Technology in Kanpur in 2004. Before enrolled to the Duke University, he worked for two years at the GE Global Research Center in Bangalore.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Durham Police Sgt. Jack Cates at 560-4440, ext. 262, Duke Police at (919) 684-2444 or Durham Crimestoppers at (919) 683-1200. Cash rewards are assured for information leading to arrests in the Duke shooting and callers never have to identify themselves.
This tragedy is the second homicide involved with Indian graduate students studying in USA within two months. On December 13, Chandrasekhar Reddy Komma and Kiran Kumar Allam, two Indian Ph.D candidates were also shot to the death at the Edward Gay Apartments complex of Louisiana State University. The murderer has since remained at large.