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On Wednesday, October 5, 22-year-old Purdue University student Ji Min Sha was arrested for the murder of Varun Manish Chheda, his roommate and fellow Purdue student.
As per NBC, the incident took place in a dorm room in McCutcheon Hall in West Lafayette, Indiana. At 12:45 pm on October 5, Ji Min Sha called 911 and reported that Varun Manish Chheda was dead in their dorm room. Subsequently, he was arrested by authorities and charged with murder.
According to CBS, a preliminary autopsy revealed that Chedda died from blunt-force traumatic injuries. Ji Min Sha, a Korean international student, and junior cyber security major, is currently in police custody.
All there is to know about Varun Manish Chheda
Varun Manish Chheda, 20, was from Indianapolis and was studying data science at Purdue University when the tragic incident occurred.
According to Fox59, Chheda was considered by friends and family to be a warm, bright student who graduated from Park Tudor with glowing results in 2020. His achievements during school included scoring top honors at a State Science Olympiad in 2016 and winning a State Spanish competition in 2015 and 2016. He also competed in Chemistry and Science Bowl competitions.
In an interview with NBC, Chheda's childhood friend Arunabh Sinha discussed the victim's academic achievements.
Sinha said:
“(Varun Manish Chheda was) a really smart guy, always top of his class, top of the chess club, science bowl team. He was really humble about it. (He) always did things the right way, he refused to take short cuts."
He continued:
“He was a tremendous family person. He had a lot of respect for his parents and their contributions to his life. Further, he loved his sister and served as a role model for his sister better than anyone I know.”
In the interview, Sinha said that he could not understand why anyone would kill Chheda, who reportedly had not discussed his roommate with any of his childhood friends.
“I was just in utter disbelief that something could happen to someone so pure, someone so intelligent, someone so innocent, someone who certainly did not deserve such an outcome. Everyone that I’ve talked to has said, ‘Of all the people, why him?’
Chheda, an avid fan of video games, was reportedly playing an online game with his friends when he was killed. Sinha reported that they were carrying out a discord chat while gaming when Chheda began to scream. Soon after, Ji Min Sha called authorities, reporting that the promising young student was dead.
The case is currently under police investigation. Authorities have not yet determined the motive behind the alleged murder.
