Update July 5: Cal will hold a vigil from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday on Sproul Plaza to remember Tarishi Jain.
Original story, July 2, 8:14 a.m. An 18-year-old UC Berkeley economics student was killed sometime Friday or Saturday by ISIS gunmen who stormed a cafe in Bangladesh and hacked about 20 people to death.
Tarishi Jain of India was among those slain, according to the New York Times. Her death was confirmed by Sushma Swaraj, India’s minister of external affairs.
Scroll down for a statement from UC Berkeley.
“I am extremely pained to share that the terrorists have killed Tarushi [sic], an Indian girl who was taken hostage in the terror attack in Dhaka,” Swaraj posted on Twitter.
She was a sophomore at UC Berkeley, according to a statement released Saturday morning by the university. (Scroll down to read it.)
Jain had gone to the restaurant, Holey Artisan Bakery, in Dhaka’ s diplomatic quarter to have dinner with friends, one of her relatives told the Indian Express. Around 9:20 p.m. gunmen stormed the restaurant and took about 20 people hostage, most of them foreigners, according to news reports. They held police at bay for 11 hours. Police eventually stormed the restaurant around 7:40 a.m. Saturday and killed six gunmen, according to new reports. Thirteen hostages were rescued.
Jain’s father had a clothing business in Bangladesh. Jain appears to have followed her family’s business inclinations. She wrote about a new line of clothing she was involved with, EthiCal clothing, on her Facebook page in April. The company made clothing with Cal insignias and used the profits to make micro-loans through Kiva to people in developing countries, according to its web page.
“We are so excited to launch our new clothing line! Pleeease support us in our mission to help rising entrepreneurs and fight poverty all around the world :),” Jain wrote on Facebook.
She was also a member of the International Student Association at Berkeley, according to her Facebook posts.
Two college students from Emory University were also killed, according to NBC News. The gunmen were part of ISIS and said they were deliberately attacking foreigners.
Update, 10:30 a.m. According to UC Berkeley, Jain “was working on e-commerce growth at Eastern Bank Limited in Dhaka through an internship with UC Berkeley’s Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies.” She began her work there in early June.
“We are all very devastated to hear the news about Tarishi Jain. She was a smart and ambitious young woman with a big heart. Our deepest condolences to her family, friends, and the entire Berkeley community,” said Sanchita Saxena, executive director of the Institute for South Asia Studies and director of the Center for Bangladesh Studies.
Chancellor Nicholas B. Dirks issued the following statement at about 10:15 a.m. about Jain’s death.
Dear Campus Community,
It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform you of the tragic death of one of our students, Tarishi Jain, a UC Berkeley student killed in the terrorist attacks in Bangladesh yesterday.
Tarishi and seven other students were completing internships with UC Berkeley’s Subir and Malini Chowdhury Center for Bangladesh Studies.
A graduate of the American International School in Dhaka, Tarishi came to UC Berkeley in 2014 and was intending to major in economics.
We have been in contact with her family to provide assistance in any way that we can and are working closely with our other students there to assist them in staying safe and determining whether they leave the area.
Our counseling services staff and CARE services are available to support for faculty, students and staff on campus as we mourn this tragic loss.
The ASUC will be planning a vigil and memorial for the campus and will share details soon.
On behalf of our entire campus, we send our deepest condolences to her family and friends and to all the other families who have suffered such a devastating loss.
Sincerely,
Nicholas Dirks
This story was updated after UC Berkeley released a statement about Jain’s death, and to correct Jain’s age.
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