Indian-Origin man shoots dead Nepal student, 21, while robbing flat in US

Mangalore Today News Network

United State, August 31, 2024: A 21-year-old student from Nepal was shot dead allegedly by an Indian-origin man at her apartment in US during a robbery, police said on Saturday. The man, who has been identified as 52-year-old Bobby Sinh Shah, has been arrested.

Muna Pandey, a community college student, was found with multiple gunshot wounds inside her Houston apartment around 5.30 pm on Monday, police said. Staff at her apartment complex told police that they received an anonymous call about a body inside the apartment. When the police reached the scene, she was declared dead.

Two days later, police released a photo of Shah who was caught on CCTV leaving her apartment on Saturday. Police said Shah was arrested later that day at a traffic stop and charged with murder.

According to a GoFundMe page, Ms Pandey had moved to study at the Houston Community College from Nepal in 2021. Her mother had been trying to reach her for days before her body was found inside her apartment, a member of Nepalese Association of Houston told the New York Post.

"What her Mom said is her phone was always online. After Saturday night, phone was offline. She had three gunshots and she was laying down on the bed, with head down. Hopefully, the investigation will come up with some idea of how this happened," he said, adding that Ms Pandey was an only child.

The association is working with the Nepal Consulate to help make travel arrangements for Ms Pandey’s mother to fly to Houston.

"We are reaching out to you, our community, to help bring Anita to the United States so she can say goodbye to her only child and give Muna the farewell she deserves. The funds raised will be used to cover the costs of Muna’s funeral and to bring her mother to Houston to be with her daughter’s body for the final rituals," reads the GoFundMe page that has raised nearly $30,000.