With extreme grief, I would like to share the untimely demise of Pratyush Ranjan (Karn), known by his pet name "MItthu" to many. Since this news came out in media yesterday, many people have been wanting to know the details. He was the second son of B K Karn Jee and my first cousin as well. Those on noba-all mailing list are aware of the details since everyone(including family members) learnt of this incident through that mail.
I am putting together whatever information I have with me as of now. Chicago police found a body apparently "hit by a train" on April 4. They found a student ID with him from Univ of Nebraska, Lincoln. In response to Police enquiry, Univ had informed that he had left the university 3 yrs back and has not come back. They also said they do not have any information about his friends etc. For some reason, Chicago Police informed Indian Consulate only on May 4 about this incident. Following this Indian Consulate could get the details of his passport from Ranchi Passport Office. As his address was mentioned to be careful of B KÂ Karn, Principal, Netarhat, Tuhin (Hatian and Deputy Consul General, San Francisco) Informed on noba mailing list at about 2 AM(IST) on May 6, expecting that someone on mailing list would know about him. His elder brother, Abhishek in London, saw the news and tried to contact some family members. I woke up at 4 AM and saw the mail as well. At that stage, we informed all family members and his loss was known to us.
Avinash Alok (1981460- also a cousin) and I got in touch with Sanoj(1981443) and one of my cousin, Sameer, in Chicago as well as with Tuhin. They contacted the police station and went to see a body the next day. They also got in touch with a lady friend of Pratyush, who had seen him off for the bus to Chicago on April 2. He had called her to inform that he had reached Chicago. She informed that he was carrying all his luggage along with sufficient cash. He had planned to spend some time in Chicago looking for a job. He had planned to come back to India if he did not find anything suitable.
Before that he had informed his family members that he would be changing his place and would not be accessible for some time.
It appears to us that he was murdered in Chicago and his body thrown on a train track. He may have landed in some of the crime-prone areas of Chicago without knowing.
At this stage, his elder Brother is trying to go to Chicago after getting a VISA. After formalities, he would be cremated in Chicago. We do not know the exact date as of now but maybe some time towards the end of this week. We are hoping that we can recover some of his belongings and his murderer brought to justice.
As he was a prolific writer, if we can get his laptop, it would allow us to compile a memoir of his writings and share this with all of you to keep his memory alive.
Media picked up this incident and it is being covered widely since May 8. I am providing some links that I came across :
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/Ranchi-boy-dies-in-US-kin-told-a-month-later-suspect-murder/articleshow/8201548.cms
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/brother-of-dead-indian-to-arrive-in-chicago-to-identify-body/788317
