A Purdue University student was killed by his roommate overnight, police said.


Senior Varun Manish Chheda, 20, of Indianapolis, died of “multiple sharp force traumatic injuries,” according to a preliminary autopsy. His roommate, Ji Min “Jimmy” Sha, is in custody.


Varun Manish Chheda, 20, of Indianapolis, was a data science senior, according to Purdue University Police Chief Lesley Weite.

His death is being investigated as a homicide. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday, the Tippecanoe County coroner’s office said.


Chheda’s roommate, a 22-year-old international student from South Korea, reported the death to police around 12:44 a.m. and was immediately arrested, Weite said.

He added that the killing appeared to be unprovoked and offered his condolences to everyone who knew Chheda.

Weite also said there were no known threats to the campus.


Purdue University President Mitch Daniels spoke about the murder in a letter to the community sent sometime before 8:10 a.m. m. In it, he did not reveal exact details of what happened.

“This is as tragic an event as we can imagine on our campus, and our hearts and thoughts go out to everyone affected by this horrific event,” Daniels wrote.

The letter continues: “…I assure you that the safety of our students is the highest priority on our campus. Purdue is an exceptionally safe place on any given day, and compared to cities with Purdue’s population (approximately 60,000 total), we experience a small fraction of the violent and property crime that occurs elsewhere.

“Statistics like these are no consolation on a day like this. A death on our campus and in our Purdue family deeply affects each of us.

Police did not provide further details, citing ongoing investigations.

At least one Purdue student told Scripps WRTV that he was upset the university didn’t tell students about the murder sooner. Weite said if the suspect hadn’t given up as quickly as he did and there had been an ongoing threat to public safety, the community would have been notified sooner.

Both Daniels and Weite said the university would advise anyone in need.

Source: https://wikisoon.com/