A son lost, family of 25-year-old who died in US has Rs 43 lakh education loan to repay

MO HAMMED SALE EM, THE FATHER of25-year-oldmohammedabdul Arfath, who was found dead in Cleveland, Ohio earlier this week, has told The Indian Express thatafter spending Eid waiting for his body to arrive from the US, they also have to figure out how to repay the Rs 43 lakh education loan the family had taken.

“The mental torture is that we don’t know why this happened. We don’t know what happened. There is no information. We have no clue… (we are) in total darkness. We spent many harrowing weeks since his disappearance on March 7, and desperately hoped he would be found alive. but all we are getting back is his body,” Saleem told The Indian Express.

Arfath had gone to the US in May 2023 to pursue Masters in Information Technology from Cleveland University. The family, in Hyderabad’s Malkajgiri, lost contact with him on March 7, when his phone was switched off.

On March 17, Saleem received a phone call from the US, from an unidentified person who claimed that Arfath had been kidnapped, and demanded a ransom of $1,200. The caller threatened to sell ar fat h’ s kidneys if the amount was not paid immediately.

“We have been told by central government officials that his body was retrieved from Lake Erie near Cleveland earlier this week,” said a family member.

Saleem said Arfath was a softspoken young man, who would stay out of trouble .“he was a good student in school. He did his B.tech in Computer Science from TKR College of Engineering and Technology at LB Nagar,” he said.

Like others who dream of pursuing a Masters in engineering in the US, Arfath worked for an IT company as a software developer for nearly two years. “His dream was to settle in the US. He was delighted when the Rs 43 lakh education loan was sanctioned. Everything fell into place when he got admission at Cleveland University,” Saleem said.

When Arfath left for the US in May 2023, his father also gave him Rs 10 lakh worth of foreign currency. “He did not have to worry about anything financially. We have no clue if he got into trouble with his colleagues or friends he made there, but he never mentioned anything... We are relying on news reports but there is so little information,” Saleem said.