The father of the Boston University graduate student from India who was killed last week in Allston said he thought his son would be safe in the United States while pursuing a master’s degree in a highly selective finance program.
“I am very shocked,’’ Kanagala Sudhakar Rao, 56, the father of Kanagala Seshadri Rao, 24, said Sunday in an e-mail. “I am sure I will not get back the life of Seshadri.’’
Seshadri Rao, a student in the BU School of Management who also went by the nickname “Sesh,’’ was found on Allston Street with gunshot wounds to his head and leg at about 2:45 a.m. Thursday, according to Boston police and university officials.
Advertisement
Authorities have not commented on a possible motive for the attack, and a Boston police spokeswoman said Sunday that no additional information was available.
A BU spokesman referred questions to police.
No arrests have been made.
Rao’s father said the student did not mention having problems with anyone before he was killed, and that he himself did not fear for his son’s safety when he moved to Boston last fall.
“I did not have any concern for Seshadri for studying in Boston, as he used to adjust to all situations,’’ he said.
Rao said his son planned to return to India next year after completing his master’s of science in mathematical finance, and that he was scheduled to begin an internship on May 21 at Fidelity.
Kenneth W. Freeman, dean of the School of Management, has described Rao as a bright young man who attracted many friends and won the respect of faculty and staff with his positive attitude.
His father, a regional manager of the Utkal Gramya Bank in the Indian state of Orissa, said his son became interested in the BU program while working at a financial firm in Mumbai.
Advertisement
“He was inspired by his bosses . . . to join at Boston University,’’ Rao’s father said.
A listed owner of the Allston property on Greylock Road where Seshadri Rao lived said on Sunday that Rao had two roommates who are also Indian nationals.
The owner, who asked not to be identified, said Rao’s roommates told her that he left the apartment at about 2 a.m. Thursday, though it was unclear why.
Police later found him nearby on the 100 block of Allston Street, where he was pronounced dead.
Rao’s roommates could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
Mohan Nannapaneni, executive vice president of the Telugu Association of North America, a nonprofit helping to return Rao’s body to his family in eastern India, said Sunday that the body is scheduled to be flown out of Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday afternoon.
Rao’s father said the funeral will probably be held Wednesday at the Jagannath Temple, a Hindu temple in the holy city of Puri in the state of Orissa.
Travis Andersen can be reached at tandersen@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @TAGlobe.