Kansas shooting: People organise candle light protest in Hyderabad

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], Mar. 10 (ANI): Condemning the alleged racial attacks that have recently taken place in the U.S., the latest being the killing of Indian techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla, people in Hyderabad staged a candlelight protest. Organised jointly by Telangana NRI Parents association and All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO), the candlelight tribute was held under the slogan - Wake up India: "Unite to save NRIs in U.S." So far, four people have fallen prey to what is being dubbed as "racial" attacks. An Indian engineer, Kuchibhotla was earlier on February 22 shot to death in Kansas in an alleged racial attack, after the gunman was heard shouting "get out of my country". According to local media, the gunman, Adam Purinton, 51 who is a Navy veteran was arrested after fleeing the spot of incident after he allegedly blasted off several rounds on Thursday. The police say Purinton shot and killed Kuchibhotla, an engineer at GPS maker Garmin International and wounded his colleague Alok Madasani. He was reportedly taken into custody by the police at Applebee's in Clinton, Missouri, about 82 miles southeast of Olathe. Purinton was working as a desktop support specialist for an information technology company in the Kansas City area. In a similar heart-breaking incident, a 27-year-old student Vamshi Reddy, also belonging to Hyderabad, was shot dead outside the garage of his apartment in California's Milpitas. Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department expressed its condolences over the incident, assuring of proper investigation. "Secretary Tillerson has made clear to his counterparts our condolences over these killings. They are, it's important to note, still under investigation by local law enforcement and we're waiting to see the results of those investigations," U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said in a statement. (ANI)