Alleged Killer Of Fla. Student In India
By NEIL PAREKH

NEW YORK: "On July 11, 1999, my sister, Deepa was senselessly murdered in
her Orlando apartment," explains Sheela Agarwal.
Agarwal, a senior at Duke, is still trying to find closure almost a year
after her sister Deepa Agarwal's tragic slaying at the University of Central
Florida. Deepa was a doctoral student in finance at the university.

News reports from last year quote police officials as saying Kamlesh
Agrawal, "probably" killed Deepa.

Kamlesh, however, fled to India a day after the killing after selling his
car. He asked a friend for a ride to the airport. Within a week, the police
had conclusively identified Kamlesh as the killer and charged him with the
murder.

A spokesman for the Embassy of India, said that the United States and India
do have an extradition treaty. The spokesman indicated, however, that the
request forwarded to the Indian authorities was a "provisional request for
his arrest". Only after he is arrested can extradition be requested. The
police in India have not yet arrested Aggarwal.

According to Sheela, "The State Department does not feel any obligation to
aggressively pursue [the issue] with the Indian authorities."

A State Department official told News India-Times that they very rarely get
involved in such matters. This reporter also contacted the Department of
Justice, but did not receive additional information on their role in the
matter before this story went to press.

Sheela, however, has decided to put some pressure on the US government to
pursue her sister's killer.

She set up a Web site two weeks ago dedicated to this effort and has
circulated an e-mail asking for help. She is encouraging supporters to write
their member of Congress and the State Department, contribute to a legal aid
fund, increase awareness, and join her in a rally in front of the State
Department July 11. It will be the one-year anniversary of her sister's
death.

Sheela spoke to News India-Times while studying for final exams. She said,
"The response has been amazing. I've gotten about 100 e-mails, and there
were almost 800 page hits in the first week."

She added that most people are saying they're very sorry and "we can't let
justice go unserved (sic)." According to Sheela, people have also been
asking about the rally, and writing to Congress.

The National Federation of Indian American Associations has contacted her
indicating their interest in helping her in this effort.

On her Web site, Sheela writes, "Deepa's death, in many ways, has been
caught between two countries. The US government, thus far, has given India
very little reason to spend its resources (on) finding the man that killed
an American. We must act in order to change this, and make sure that this
tragedy does not go unnoticed."

She adds, "To this day, we live with the agony of knowing where [Kamlesh] is
hiding, yet are unable to do anything to bring him to justice."
She continues, "In eight months, the Indian government has done nothing to
return the suspect to the US even though a good deal is known about his
whereabouts. I fear my sister has become just another file at the bottom of
a stack of papers on some bureaucrat's desk."

Sheela's parents moved back to India in December 1998 and have settled in
Delhi. Her father is a US citizen.

Deepa was born in Evansville, Indiana, and grew up in the suburbs of
Orlando, Florida. At the small prep school she attended for ten years, she
participated in the student council, the Key Club, and drama. Deepa
graduated from Lake Mary High School one year early, and spent a year
learning about her heritage while volunteering in India.

Recently, two American students were murdered in Costa Rica. The FBI
investigated and helped capture their killers. Sheela asks that America help
in finding the man that killed her sister.

Last month, FBI director Louis Freeh returned from a successful trip to
India where he established a legal attache office at the Embassy in New
Delhi.