Hyderabad student missing in US for a month found dead in lake

HYDERABAD: City student Mohammed Abdul Arfath, who had been missing since last month from Cleveland in Ohio, US, has been found dead, with his body retrieved from a lake on Monday.
It's the second death of an Indian student within a week in Cleveland even as the community grapples with a string of such tragedies across the US.
The 25-year-old had gone missing on March 7, soon after making a call to his family.Subsequently, the family claimed to have received a ransom call from an unidentified person demanding $1,200 for his release from a local drug gang. There were no further calls and cops, too, hit a dead end.
On Monday, police retrieved Arfath's body from Lake Erie near Voinovich Park in Cleveland. The cause of death was yet to be confirmed.
According to Arfath's relatives in the US, a week after he went missing, a jogger had alerted police on March 13 about a bag with a laptop and identity card at Voinovich Park. The same jogger provided some clues on March 21 to Cleveland police, who began a search operation. On April 8 (US time 3.40pm), police found the body from the lake, about 5 km from the place where the bag had been found.
Arfath's father Saleem, who lives in Nacharam, told TOI that he suspected it to be a murder. "My son had no problems. He was normal when he spoke to us on March 7. He spoke for less than a minute. He said his phone was running out of battery and that he would call back in 10 minutes," Saleem said, ruling out the possibility of Arfath ending his life.
"After we gave a complaint to the police, they checked the CCTV footage at the shopping mall. My son was walking out with his bicycle. He was as normal as one would expect," Saleem said.
Mission in NY helping kin get mortal remains
Arfath had arrived in the United States in May last year and joined Cleveland State University for his MS in IT.
He had quit midway in January this year, and had joined another university in New York. However, he continued to live in Cleveland despite the long distance to New York.
He was living in a shared accommodation outside the campus with three other students.
The consulate general of India in New York, who called up Saleem to inform him about his son's body being found, expressed condolences in a post on X.
It said it was in touch with local authorities to ensure a thorough investigation into Arfath's death. The consulate said all possible assistance was being extended to the bereaved family to transport his mortal remains to India.
After Arfath went missing, social worker and MBT leader Amjed Ullah Khan had also written to Union ministry of external affairs (MEA) and CGI, New York, to help trace him. The Telangana govt had also written to MEA. Arfath's father has now urged the MEA and Telangana govt to help bring back his body to India.
Recently, the Indian Consulate had reported the death of Uma Satya Sai Gadde in Cleveland, Ohio.