A US-India bipartisan body today strongly condemned the "heinous" and "barbaric" killing of an Indian engineer in Kansas and sought prompt investigation into the incident and other similar hate crimes across the country.
The US-India Political Action Committee said the "apparent hate crime" is "heinous" and "barbaric" and USINPAC stands together with the victims' families at their time of distress.
32-year-old Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who was working in aviation systems for Olathe-based Garmin Ltd, died after he was shot by navy veteran Adam Purinton who, according to witnesses, yelled "get out of my country" and "terrorist" at a bar last Wednesday night before opening fire.
Kuchibhotla's colleague Alok Madasani, also an engineer from Hyderabad, was critically injured in the attack.
"My thoughts are with the victims and families shaken by the shooting in Kansas. Senseless acts of violence have no place in our country. I'm heartbroken by this tragedy," said Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.
Calling this a senseless act of violence, Congressman Ro Khanna said, "Any act of violence fuelled by hatred and xenophobia and prejudice cannot be tolerated."
He expressed hope that local and federal law enforcement will justly investigate the shooting as a hate crime.
Expressing shock over the killing, USINPAC Chairman Sanjay Puri said the organisation strongly condemns the killing of Kuchibhotla.
"We have reached out the Department of Justice and asked for quick action on these and other such hate crimes around the country. This incident needs to be treated as a hate crime. We continue to monitor this situation along with other racially motivated incidents around the country," Puri said.
The USINPAC focuses on the over 3.2 million Indian- Americans and works on issues that concern the community. It supports candidates for local, state and federal office and encourages political participation by the Indian-American community.
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