I do not know if anyone has been following the news in America lately, but if you have not heard there was a school massacre at Virginia Tech, which has shocked our entire nation, including me.
Although the media has released a partial list of those who were killed, there is some concern that one of the fallen may have been Minal Panchal (not to be confused with the other Minal Panchal) who apparently is not responding back to her scraps. :-(
(Times of India) An Indian student of the university who was caught in the shooting is missing, according to inputs from the student community in Virginia’s largest university.
There are many Indian students in this university. All other Indian students are safe, say inputs from the student community. [...]
According to reports from the campus, friends were searching for an Indian student, Minal Panchal, who has been reported missing.
Minal Panchal has her Orkut scrapbook full of prayers hoping she is fine and urgent pleas to respond and tell her near and dear ones that she is safe.
According to standard policy, the media and government do not release the names of the victim until the family members have been contacted. With that said, here's praying that she is still alive and well and that someone (hopefully Minal herself) can verify her safety.
Related: Two Virginia Tech forums posting memorials for the fallen.
If anyone knows if Minal is safe, let us all know please. May our prayers be with those families who have lost loved ones today. :-(
Update: Startup Dunia is pointing to an article over on IBN Live listing Minal among the dead. I have not seen her name on any official list online, (or other media outlets confirming her status) so I am for now assuming otherwise.
I've posted some messages on Facebook (popular among college students in the US) asking if anyone knows any info regarding her safety. If I find anything, I'll post about it here.
Update (4/18): I'm receiving more an more messages hinting that she is among the victims killed. She is not on any official list that I see, but people have put together a list on Wikipedia suggesting that she is one of the fallen.
Other Facebook members are also hinting at this as well. Keep her family in your prayers.
Update (4/18): Minal is now officially listed among the fallen according to media sources. I am going to do a tribute post detailing forums paying honor in her memory. I have visited several already, although if anybody knows of any I should mention let me know via scrapbook or in the comment section.
8 opinions:
shoot out death is cruelsome. Let us pray for their soul rest in peace.It was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us
She is replying to scraps & she is alive.
Hey Anonymous,
I think you are referring to the other Minal (who is based in India).
There was a Minal attending college at Virginia Tech, and she (unfortunately) is confirmed among the dead.
NO. I am talking about Minal based in Virginia. http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=7532880825063317819 She is replying to scraps. You can check her scrapbook.
Hey Anonymous,
The profile you just linked to is the Minal we are talking about. She is listed among the dead, and her photo in the profile is the same one the media is also reporting.
She has some older scraps, yes, but unless you can point to some recent ones (say Tuesday) I am going to have to have to doubt you on this.
I hope I am not insulting you, but if she is still alive, then its the evidence that I am after.
PS
What's with the Anonymous replies?
I am not able to locate the exact scrap because her scrap book is now flooded with now 34417 scraps (and still counting). But, I have visited her scrapbook a day before & she has replied so many times that she is alive. I believe that I am correct.
By the way do you have any link to official reports from government authorities or from where she works?
You are not insulting me. It is just that we are on the opposite ends. Waiting for your answer!
Hey Goutam,
Thanks for replying!
First off, let me inform you that over the past few days there have been many fake profiles of Minal floating around Orkut, which users have flagged as fake (and Google is in the process of removing those from existance).
Second, there was another Minal with the same exact name in India, and she was receiving hundreds of scraps as people assumed that she was among the fallen. She has since deleted her profile (I'm assuming at least).
But yes, the media is already reporting her among the fallen, as a simple Google News Search would reveal.
But just in case you do not believe me here is her photo listed in Yahoo! India News and Times of India.
Since both of those images are from Orkut, you may be still doubting that its the real Minal, and if so, then this report from Daiji World should lay the rumors to rest.
Thanks again Goutam for commenting here, and I hope this clarifies everything in your mind regarding her unfortunate fate.
You were right & I was wrong. Thanks for clarifying my doubt.
Actually, what happened was that somebody created a fake profile with the same name & picture. That profile was posting in the real Minal's scrapbook. I thought that Minal actually was replying in her scrapbook which actually was not the case.
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