Who killed this Boston University student? In the early morning hours of April 19, 2012, the life of Kanagala Seshadri Rao, a 24-year-old male graduate student from India, was tragically cut short on a street in the Allston neighborhood of Boston. Responding to a call at approximately 2:30 a.m., Boston police discovered Rao's body on the sidewalk of Allston Street, not far from the Commonwealth Avenue campus of Boston University where he was enrolled in the Graduate School of Management.
He had sustained gunshot wounds to his head and leg and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Friends and professors remembered Rao, who was affectionately known as "Sesh," as a kind-hearted, intelligent, and ambitious student with a bright future. He was respected by his classmates and was described as a "gentle soul" who was passionate about computer games and coding. Just weeks before his death, one of his professors had agreed to be a reference for a summer internship application, a testament to his promising career path. The news of his violent death sent shockwaves through the Boston University community, prompting the university president to issue a statement expressing deep sadness and outrage.
The investigation into Rao's death, a joint effort by the Boston Police Department and the Boston University Police Department, began immediately. Authorities pledged to increase patrols in the Allston area, a neighborhood popular with students, to allay fears and ensure public safety. Despite their efforts and public appeals for information, no arrests were made in the case, and no suspects were publicly identified in the months that followed his death. The motive for the killing also remained unclear to the public.
Further investigation revealed a troubling incident that had occurred just two weeks prior to the fatal shooting. Rao and a female classmate had been mugged in Ringer Park, a short distance from where his body was later found. During that robbery, a group of men took money and a laptop from his friend. Rao had reportedly refused to give up his belongings and was physically assaulted, suffering minor injuries. While it is unknown if the two events were connected, this prior act of violence added another layer of tragedy to the narrative of a promising young life taken too soon. His family in India faced an agonizing wait for his body to be returned home, a process that compounded their grief.
