Our Bureau
St Louis, MS
In a shocking incident, and another attack on Indian-Americans in the US in recent months, Amarnath Ghosh, a 34-year-old trained classical dancer from India and a student of Washington University, was shot dead in St Louis, Missouri.
Actor and friend of Ghosh, Devoleena Bhattacharjee, posted on X to inform about the incident and appeal for help to claim his body. She wrote, “ My friend #Amarnathghosh was shot & killed in St louis academy neighbourhood, US on tuesday evening. Only child in the family, mother died 3 years back. Father passed away during his childhood. Well the reason , accused details everything are not revealed yet or perhaps no one left in his family to fight for it except his few friends. He was from Kolkata. Excellent dancer , was pursuing PHD , was taking an evening walk and suddenly he was shot multiple times by an unknown. Some friends in US are trying to claim the body but still no update about it. @IndianEmbassyUS,kindly see to it if you could. At least we should know the reason of his murder. @DrSJaishankar @narendramodi.”
Dancer Ghosh was a performing artist, choreographer and art educator based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, according to his website. Ghosh originally belonged to Birbhum district of west Bengal, he was an alumni of Kalakshetra, a prestigious Chennai institution. He was pursuing his master’s in the Performing Arts Department of Washington University.
Well-versed in four dance styles – Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Manipuri and Kathak, Ghosh had also learnt and performed Rabindra Nritya and Rabindra Sangeet in the Shantiniketan style. He was a recipient of the national scholarship for Kuchipudi from the Ministry of Culture, and had also received the Nritya Kanak Mani Saman at the International Dance and Music Festival in New Delhi.
Reacting to the news, the Indian embassy in Chicago said that they had taken up the matter with the police and authorities to investigate the “reprehensible gun attack.” “Consulate is extending all help to relatives of deceased Amarnath Ghosh. Taken up the case strongly with St Louis police and the University for investigation of the reprehensible gun attack,” the embassy said in a post on social media platform X.
