TELANGANA Student Gunned Down In Kansas

EXTERNAL Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has assured assistance to the bereaved family of the youth from Telangana who was shot dead in Kansas City on Friday around 7 pm local time. Her ministry has taken up with the Police through the Indian Embassy to collect all information related to the ghastly incident, she said on Twitter. Local Police, meanwhile, said it was an armed robbery case and have launched manhunt on the basis of CCTV footage. Kansas, incidentally, was in the news last year when city-based techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot dead by ex-US Navy veteran Adam Purinton in a hate incident at a pub in Olathe. A 26-year-old student from Telangana was killed after unknown persons opened fire at a restaurant in Kansas City. The deceased, identified as Sharath Koppu, was studying at the University of Missouri-Kansas City or UMKC. Local media says Sharath was fatally wounded in the shooting at a restaurant called J’s Fish and Chicken Market .His cousin said that Sharath received five bullet injuries. He was immediately rushed  to a nearby but could not be saved .The Kansas City police released the CCTV footage of the suspected shooter – seen in a brown and white striped shirt. The police termed the incident as an armed robbery and launched a manhunt to nab the accused. They also announced a reward of USD 10,000 for information leading to charges. According to reports, when the shooter pulled out his gun the restaurant staffers 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. His family said they had received the news on Saturday morning that Sharath was wounded in a shooting. When they could not get any more information, they approached Sushma Swaraj and State‘s NRI Minister K.T. Rama Rao.Sushama Swaraj also offered condolences and promised to provide the required assistance to Koppu’s family. Sharath grew up in Telangana’s Warangal district and graduated from an engineering college. He had 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 body back. Indian consulate officials in Chicago have also promised all help in getting the body back to India (with inputs from NDTV & Republic TV).