In yet another deadly attack on Indians and Indian-Americans in the US in recent months, a 34-year-old trained classical dancer from India and a student of Washington University, was shot dead in St Louis, Missouri.
Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam dancer Amarnath Ghosh, who migrated to the US from West Bengal last year “to follow his dancing dreams,” was shot several times near the border of St Louis’ Academy and Central West End neighbourhoods. He died on the spot.
According to the St Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the shooting happened at 7:15 pm on Tuesday at Delmar Boulevard and Clarendon Avenue, news portal ‘5 On Your Side’ reported on Friday.
Ghosh was pursuing his master’s in the Performing Arts Department of Washington University.
Hailing from Suri town in West Bengal’s Birbhum district, Ghosh was an alumni of Kalakshetra, a prestigious Chennai institution that is a vital centre for the study and performance of fine arts, from 2007 to 2011.
His uncle Shyamal Ghosh said in Suri on Saturday, he is still in the dark about the details of his nephew’s death in the USA even after four days. “We had informed the district police and administration about what we had heard from various sources. But till today, we don’t have any details about his death,” he said.
Calling him “very friendly and very talented,” Ghosh’s friends Hima Kuppa and Ravi Kuppa in the US said, “He was always travelling a lot for his performances. A lot of organisations called him for performances, but he always wanted to come back to St Louis.”
Ghosh was learning ballet and dance. Gosh’s killing has prompted India’s consulate in Chicago to take up the issue with local police and the university.
Asserting that the mission is “extending all help to the relatives of deceased Amarnath Ghosh,” India’s Consulate in Chicago posted on X that it has “taken up the case strongly with St Louis police and the University for investigation of the reprehensible gun attack.”
Offering deep condolences to family and friends of the deceased in St Louis, Missouri, it said, “We are following up forensic, investigation with police and providing support.”
Washington University, where Gosh was a student, has condemned his killing as “senseless violence beyond comprehension.