AAPI condemns Indian-American scientist's murder

Condemning the murder of an Indian scientist last month, the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) has asked New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to personally monitor the prosecution of individuals charged with this heinous crime.

49-year-old Divyendu Sinha, a computer scientist and an IIT Kharagpur alumnus, was brutally attacked by five teenage boys on the night of June 26, when he along with his sons had gone for a walk near his home in Old Bridge township of New Jersey.

Sinha, who was immediately admitted to a nearby hospital, succumbed to injuries a few days later. His two sons received minor injuries. The police have arrested five school-going teenagers – most of whom are 17 years of age – on charges of beating Divyendu to death, that has sent shocked waves in the large Indian-American community in New York and New Jersey. New Jersey, in particular the Middlesex County, where Divyendu Sinha lived has one of the largest concentrations of Indian-Americans in the country. A number of Indian-American organisations have said this is a hate crime. However, the police have not reached at any definite conclusion.

"We are shocked at this heinous crime directed toward a member of our community," said Ajeet R Singhvi, AAPI president and Sunita Kanumury, AAPI president-elect. In a letter to the New Jersey Governor, the two top AAPI officials expressed their great concern over this case and urging him to monitor the prosecution of the perpetrators. "We will send a strong message across the nation that we will not sit by idly when acts of serious violence are directed toward innocent Indian-Americans," Singhvi said in the letter.

"As Governor, we urge you to make every effort to ensure that all individuals are guaranteed their inalienable rights as provided for in the United States Constitution."