Bodies were found 4 blocks from each other.
By The American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: Two 20-year-old Indian American students studying at separate campuses at the University of California, Vaibhev Loomba and Apoorve Agarwal, who were found dead in separate incidents in the last two months, were the victims of alcohol consumption and blunt force trauma to the head, respectively, authorities have said.
Loomba, of Lafayette, studying at the University of California Davis, was found unresponsive shortly after noon November 9 at Zeta Psi fraternity at 2728 Bancroft Way. Loomba died of acute alcohol poisoning, the Alameda County coroner’s office said, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
“I can’t think of a more genuinely amazing person than Vaibhev,” Kathryn Lucida posted on Facebook after his death, reported KCRA Sacramento. “Even with people he just met, he was so sweet and caring.”
The Daily Californian reported Loomba described as “truly brilliant” and “naturally gifted” by his sister Vishalli Loomba — a UC Berkeley alumna and former ASUC president. The deceased was in his junior year studying mechanical engineering at UC Davis. But his friends are quick to highlight his other talents.
In 2013, the siblings co-founded an organization called Satyashakti that aims to empower Indian women with medical and public health education. Vishalli Loomba said the two shared a “special bond that extends far beyond that of friends or siblings.”
“He taught me that life is about the relationships you make and the people you are able to help and positively impact,” she wrote. “He was always smiling and warm.”
“He was my best friend,” said Jacob Peters, who had been Loomba’s friend since elementary school. “But there are probably 30 more people that would also call him their best friend. He was that important to that many people.”
In high school, Loomba was involved in student government, ran track, tutored and participated in Model United Nations. He was senior class president his graduating year.
Loomba is survived also by his father, Vishav Loomba and his mother, Vinki Loomba.
About 4 a.m. December 20, University of California Berkeley student Agarwal, of San Ramon, was found dead outside his home on the 2500 block of Piedmont Avenue, apparently after falling down a flight of stairs. Agarwal was a junior studying applied mathematics and economics.
The coroner said he suffered blunt force trauma. Police said alcohol may have been a factor in his death, reported the Chronicle.
The San Jose Mercury News reported a coroner’s spokeswoman saying that Agarwal died from contusions to the brain as a result of blunt force trauma to the head. Although his death remained under investigation, authorities were investigating it as an accident, the spokeswoman said.
Agarwal was a junior at the school and was pursuing a double major in applied mathematics and economics, according to a short biography posted on a website for Law in Practice, a student-run organization for people interested in law.
Agarwal was listed as general officer on the organization’s executive team, and his biography said he had served as an intern at a finance company but had an inclination toward international and business law.
He attended Dougherty Valley High School and according to his Facebook profile, he spoke Hindi, Spanish and English.
Kishan Patel, a UC Berkeley junior and Agarwal’s roommate, said Agarwal was his first friend in college and had been his best friend ever since the two lived together as freshmen, reported The Daily Californian. He said his favorite memory of Agarwal is when they attended a San Francisco 49ers game together before their freshman year had started, even though Agarwal was a Raiders fan.
“He loved Cal. He had a lot of school spirit, and he cherished the school for how amazing it was or for the people he met here,” Patel said.
According to Patel, Agarwal was never nervous before an exam because he was very confident and realized that “stressing out only made things worse.”
Ananth Cherukupally, a UC Berkeley sophomore and childhood friend of Agarwal, said he and Agarwal had similar senses of humor. According to Cherukupally, Agarwal was sarcastic and extremely witty.
“My favorite memory is when we both were playing baseball — I was in the fourth grade, and he was in the fifth grade, and we were down by a run,” Cherukupally said. “He wasn’t worried, and then he hit a homerun and we won the game. That was the type of guy he was; he was never worried about things and he just enjoyed life.”
The bodies of Loomba and Agarwal were found around four blocks from each other.