HOUSTON, TEXAS, August 13, 2005: Meditation was a ritual of Akhil Chopra’s daily life. He began each morning with prayer and meditation before a small shrine in his southwest Houston apartment. During the workday, he might step outside for a moment of silence and calm, his friends and co-workers said. They believe the 28-year-old Hindu community leader was meditating in a park near his office when he was shot and killed Thursday. Chopra may have been so deeply concentrating that he did not notice his killer, said Ramesh Bhutada, president of Star Pipe Products, the company Chopra had worked for since 2002. “I think after lunch he went there for a moment of quietness,” Bhutada said. ” … He probably didn’t hear it.” Star Pipe employees held a Friday morning memorial service for the young man many had come to view as family. The workers, some of whom talked of preparing feasts for his birthday and marveled at his commitment to faith and community service, placed yellow roses on the bench where Chopra died. “I think he was one of the most noble of souls,” Bhutada said. “We were all touched by him. That is a lot for a person to achieve.”
Police had no leads Friday in his death, which they believe occurred during a robbery, said Sgt. Robert Torres, a Houston Police Department investigator. Chopra’s body was found by a passer-by about 1 p.m. Thursday on a bench inside a gazebo at Bishop Joseph A. Fiorenza Park, on Ashford Point, not far from Star Pipe offices, Torres said. His wallet was missing and no gun was found at the scene, Torres said.
Though only 28, Chopra had made a name for himself as a contributor to Houston’s Indian community. He worked with the Hindu Students Council, a national organization, and volunteered for a variety of local groups offering education programs for children and young people. Every Sunday he was the voice of the news in Hindi for Sanatan Radio Program. This year he was one of the primary organizers of the Janamashtami festival, which celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna. It is one of the Indian community’s largest religious festivals and will be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center Aug. 27.