Overview
- Police bodycam from March 2024 shows two Indian students detained outside a Hoboken, New Jersey ShopRite after paying for two items and leaving with 27 unpaid goods worth $155.61.
- News reports identify the women as Bhavya Linganagunta, 20, and Yamini Valkalpudi, 22, both graduate students at Stevens Institute of Technology.
- In the footage, the students cite a limited balance and offer to pay or pay double, but officers issue a trespass notice, handcuff them, and advise a later court appearance.
- One student asks whether the arrest will affect H‑1B or job prospects, and an officer responds that checks will show an arrest on their record.
- The clip’s renewed circulation follows widely viewed U.S. shoplifting videos involving Indians, including a $1,300 Target case in Illinois, and it comes as media highlight stricter visa scrutiny and a U.S. Embassy warning that crimes can lead to revocation.