Pratyush Kumar was studying in the University of Nebraska. His parents say they came to know about the death through a website.

The Ranchi passport office confirmed the death Saturday evening. A pall of gloom has descended on the family that suspects Pratyush was murdered and his body dumped on the railway track.

The US authorities have termed the death an accident. "It seems he was murdered. The bag which he used to keep with him is missing," said Pratyush's father B.K. Karn, retired principal of the well-known Netarhat school.

The family members are unhappy with the Indian embassy and claim it did not bother to take up the issue with the US authorities. The family members are also upset that they came to know of the death through a website.Karn's eldest son who works in London will go to the US to bring back the body.