Bhubaneswar:
External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has assured the Odisha government that the Centre will "seriously" take up the issue of the murder of a 24-year-old student from the state in Boston with US officials.
K Seshadri Rao, pursuing an MBA degree in Mathematical Finance (treasury management) at Boston University School of Management, was shot by an unidentified assailant in the head and leg in the early hours of April 19 at Aliston Street in Boston.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who strongly condemned the killing of the student, spoke to Mr Krishna, who was at Madrid in Spain, on Saturday evening. Expressing his anguish over the incident, Mr Patnaik also spoke to the Indian Ambassador in Washington Nirupama Rao about the student's murder.
"Both of them assured the chief minister that they are on the job seriously," a release issued by the Chief Minister's Office said. Quoting Ms Rao, the release said that an officer of the Indian Consulate in New York has been sent to Boston.
"The Indian Consulate has taken charge of the body and it will be sent to India shortly," it said.
The student's body will be flown to New Delhi on Tuesday and then to Bhubaneswar on the same day, according his family. He will then be cremated in Puri in the evening.
Stating that the investigation was on into the murder of the youth, Ambassador Nirupama Rao assured Mr Patnaik that they would be following up the matter with the authorities concerned. Mr Patnaik had demanded appropriate punishment for the culprits involved in the killing of the student.
Mr Krishna also spoke to Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao on the incident.