On July 11, 1999, my sister, Deepa was senselessly murdered in her Orlando
apartment. Her family and friends were quite distant: I was working
in New York and my parents were in India. Three days later she was
filed as missing, and her apartment was searched by the police to no avail.
One week later, upon our insistence, it was searched more thoroughly and
her body was found in her closet.
Within a week, the police had conclusively identified and charged a fellow student with the murder, but confirming our worst fears, he had fled to India in the interim. Kamlesh Agrawal, an Indian national, had come to Orlando three years earlier to attend college. To this day, we live with the agony of knowing where he is hiding, yet are unable to do anything to bring him to justice.
Born and raised in Orlando, Deepa was an all American girl living the
American dream.
She was smart and beautiful and deeply loved by all of us who knew
her. At 20 years old, having taken only two years to complete her
undergraduate degree, she was the youngest Ph.D. student in the history
of the University of Central Florida. But I will always remember Deepa
for her graceful approach to any obstacle--the strength of her smile--that
to this day reminds me of the hope that lies behind every challenge.
It is with this hope that I ask for your support. It still seems surreal that this could be taken away from her so easily--that her killer could, after leaving her lying on a blood soaked mattress, sell her belongings and buy a plane ticket to India. It seems even more surreal that he has been allowed to get away with this, as the US looks the other way at India's lack of cooperation.
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. Each day, I hope that I will receive news of her killer's arrest. But I fear my sister has become just another file at the bottom of a stack of papers on some bureaucrat's desk. Still today, the State Department does not feel any obligation to aggressively pursue extradition with the Indian authorities.
Yet I have hope. Following the recent news about the shocking murders of two American students in Costa Rica, I was heartened to hear that the FBI was aggressively investigating the case and actively attempting to find the killer. However, I can't help but wonder if my sister's case is being ignored because it is seen as an Indian issue: an Indian American murdered by an Indian national. After all, when two Americans were murdered in Costa Rica, the US sent the FBI to investigate and capture their killers. Justice cannot allow the US to take such an active role in the murders of two white Americans, but not the murder of one Indian American. America must aid in finding the man that killed Deepa Agarwal.
I am only one person but with your help, I believe that we can convince the US government to pursue justice for Deepa. Please don't let my sister become a victim of bureaucratic neglect! With the help of friends, I am organizing a campaign to put pressure on the US government to pursue justice for my sister. The campaign will culminate in a vigil in front of the White House on July 11, 2000, the one-year anniversary of Deepa's murder. Please join this rally and show that justice cannot be forgotten.
As I finish my last semester at Duke, I am trying to find closure in my sister's death. My parents moved to India several years ago, so I don't have the benefit of their support. I know that the American community won't let Deepa's memory be forgotten. Your voice can help reverse this tragedy.
Sheela Agarwal