Students’ Deaths Shock Telugu Community in US

Telugu families are once again facing heartbreak as news keeps coming in about young students and professionals from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh losing their lives in the United States. What was once a dream destination for education and jobs has now turned into a land of tragic headlines for many parents back home.

In the latest incident, 25-year-old Sheraz Mehtab Mohammed from Chanchalguda in Hyderabad died in a road accident in Evanston, near Chicago. Just two days back, Chandrashekar Pole, a student from Hyderabad, was shot dead while working part-time at a gas station in Texas.

Sadly, this is not the first time such news has shaken our Telugu families in 2025. In January, Koyya Raviteja, a young student was shot dead in the US. In March, another youngster Praveen, was also shot dead. In September, Mohammed Nizamuddin from Hyderabad faced the same fate in another shooting incident. All these incidents have one link in common, the gunmen still continue to be unidentified and are observed to be registered as hate crimes that have been caused due to rising racism against the Indians.

Apart from gun violence, accidents have also claimed precious lives. Sreeja Varma, a 23-year-old student from Hyderabad, lost her life in Chicago when a truck hit her from behind while she was walking to a restaurant. She had just completed her Master’s degree and was preparing to start a new job. Similarly, Shanagana Hari Kiran Goud, a 25-year-old student from Andhra Pradesh, tragically drowned in a waterfall in Missouri while on an outing with friends.

The Telugu community in the USA mourns not only the loss of a promising young life but also the growing anxiety among Telugu families about the safety of their children pursuing dreams abroad. Sadly from the first incident to now, the gunmen continue to be unidentified and make no progress in any of these cases while the victims and incidents are on the rise across the US. 

Parents send their children abroad with great dreams and huge financial sacrifices. But repeated incidents like these are creating fear and sorrow across Telangana and Andhra. For grieving parents, the American dream has sadly turned into a nightmare.