Aaditya Adlakha, 26, died Nov. 11 at UC Medical Center, two days after he was found shot on the Western Hills Viaduct, local media reported citing the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office.
Crime is a concern for students coming here from India, Anirudh Chhabre, former president of the Indian Student Association, who lives in the same apartment building that the victim did, told WLWT, a local TV station. When something like this happens, it makes students question their decisions to come here, he said.
“It also is kind of demotivating, like, OK, do we really want to, like, put our life at risk, you know, to be able to get like quality education?” Chhabre was quoted as saying. “Because I don’t think education should have like, you know, stressors like these come along with it.”
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Adlakha was a fourth-year doctoral student in the molecular and developmental biology program at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
Adlakha received his bachelor’s degree in zoology in 2018 from Ramjas College of the University of Delhi. He received his master’s degree in physiology in 2020 from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, also in New Delhi. He started at UC’s doctoral program in the fall of 2020.
He was much-loved, exceedingly kind and humorous, intelligent and sharp, whose research was described as novel and transformative,” Dr. Andrew Filak Jr., senior vice president for health affairs, and Christian Holmes, professor and dean of the College of Medicine, stated.
Adlakha was also a secretary for the university’s Health Sciences Graduate Association since August 2022. Last year, he received a stipend and an award to support a research project on ulcerative colitis, the statement said. He was expected to complete his doctorate in 2025.
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“As a college and as Aaditya’s academic home, we extend our deepest condolences to his family and those who knew him as a friend and colleague,” the medical school said.
On Nov 9, police said Adlakha was found shot inside a car that crashed into a wall on the upper deck of the Western Hills Viaduct, according to Cincinnati Enquirer.
ShotSpotter reported there was gunfire in the area around 6:20 am, police said. Drivers passing by called 911 to report a vehicle that had bullet holes in it, with a person inside who had been shot, officials said. Adlakha was taken to UC Medical Center and was in critical condition for a couple of days.
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No arrests have been made since the shooting was reported.
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