Sushma Swaraj extends all possible help for the bereaved family
Sharath Koppu, a 25 year old student from Telangana was shot dead in a restaurant in Kansas City on Friday evening where he was working apart from studying at University of Missouri-Kansas. He had moved to the United States earlier this year.
The incident was described as an armed robbery and the police have launched a manhunt for the suspect.
According to reports, the police said that Sharath was working at the restaurant when he was shot around 7 pm local time. Police found him lying in a pool of blood when they arrived at the scene. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Sharath was shot in the back while trying to run from the robber. Shahid, who runs the restaurant J’s Fish and Chicken Market, said, “The others ducked behind the counter but Sharath turned around and began to run in the opposite direction when the gunman opened fire. Sharath was shot in the back and soon fell to the ground.”
On Saturday, the police released a surveillance video of the suspected shooter seen in a brown and white striped shirt. The police has announced a $10,000 reward for any information that leads to charges in the murder.
Sharath grew up in Telangana’s Warangal district and graduated from an engineering college. He moved to the US for a master’s degree after leaving his job as a software engineer in Hyderabad.
Sharath’s family was informed of his death on Saturday and has contacted Telangana’s NRI minister KT Rama Rao, seeking help in getting the victim’s body back. Indian consulate officials in Chicago have also promised all help in getting the body back to India.
Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted to express heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family:
Raghu Chowdavaram, who describes himself as Sharath’s cousin, has set up a crowd-funding campaign to send financial help for Sharath Koppu’s family in Warangal. By Sunday, the campaign had collected over $45,000.
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The incident comes a year after another Indian techie from Hyderabad, 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla, was killed at a bar in Kansas City in a racially motivated hate crime.
A US Navy veteran, Adam W Purinton, who shot Srinivas Kuchibhotla in February last year, after shouting “Get out of my country”, was sentenced to life in May this year.