Chiman Rai
Chiman Rai is a former Mississippi math professor who allegedly hired a contract killer to murder his daughter-in-law, Sparkle Michelle Rai. Rai, a native of India, was allegedly upset that his son, Ricky Rai had married a black woman.
Fast Facts
- Born: ca. 1941
- Birthplace: India
- Residence: Louisville, Kentucky
- Arrested: September, 2006
- Charge: Murder
- Location of crime: Union City, Georgia
- Trial start date: June 16, 2008
- Occupations: Math professor, supermarket owner, hotel operator
- Could face death penalty if convicted
The Alleged Crime
Rai is charged with planning the 2000 contract killing of his daughter-in-law, Sparkle Michelle Rai. Sparkle married Rajeeve "Ricky" Rai after becoming familiar with the family while working at a Kentucky hotel owned by Chiman Rai. According to court documents, Chiman Rai hired brothers Cleveland and Carl Clark to carry out the murder. Sparkle Rai was found stabbed and strangled in her Union City, Georgia apartment in 2000. Her daughter, seven months old at the time, was found in the apartment with her murdered mother. Rai was arrested in 2006 in Louisville, Kentucky, after a woman who allegedly accompanied the alleged killer to the apartment phoned police.1
Controversy
The arrest and impending trial of Rai have created tensions in the Indian-American and African-American communities of the South. Defenders of Rai point out that he was a professor at the historically black Alcorn State University and that he initially approved of his son's marriage.2
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