WARANGAL: district..An Indian software engineer, Mamidala Vamsi Chander Reddy (27), was shot dead by a suspected thief who was trying to flee after robbing a woman in Milpitas in California on Saturday. Vamsi was a native of Vangapahad village in Hasanparthy mandal of Warangal district.
Though the family is yet to receive an official communique, they allege the killing to be a case of a hate crime after Donald Trump took over as the President.
The incident occurred at Vamsi’s apartment garage. The killer is suspected to have robbed a woman’s car at gunpoint and while trying to flee, collided with Vamsi’s car. When Vamsi stepped out of his vehicle to check the damage, the killer shot Vamsi, killing him on the spot.
His parents were informed of the incident by Vamsi’s friend, Praveen, at 4.30 am on Sunday. Vamsi’s father M Sanjeeva Reddy, a farmer, said he was first told that his son was missing.
Around 8.30 am, he came to know of Vamsi’s death through media reports. However, the Milpitas police have not declared it as a death, and are investigating it as a ‘missing case’.
Neither the Milpitas police nor the External Affairs Ministry had contacted Vamsi’s family, whose only source of information are his friends in the US.
Vamsi, who went to the US to do his MS in 2015, completed his masters’ from a Silicon Valley University and was working part-time for last 40 days.
“Two days ago I spoke to him. He was worried about his future as the new US government is imposing restrictions on providing jobs to foreigners. I asked him not to worry and to come back to India if he did not find a job there. But, within two days we had to hear this sad news,” Reddy said.
“What kind of government is functioning in the US. They are targeting people from other countries. What is our fault? This boy has gone there to do higher studies. He had not harmed anyone in his life and he was killed so brutally. The US government should take steps to prevent such incidents in future and punish the guilty severely,” Vamsi’s uncle Raghupathi Reddy said. Vamsi’s father made it clear that he was not in a position to bring his son’s body back from the US and appealed to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and the Centre to help him.
Worrying that Optional Practical Training (OPT) time period might be curtailed under US president Donald Trump rule and that more changes would be taken up to send back Indians, members of Telangana NRI Parents Association requested State and Central governments to intervene in the issues faced by Indian students and working professionals.
As on date, there have been reports that OPT period might be trimmed. As per the present provisions, post study, graduates can stay in the USA for up to three years during which students find a job. Members of the association, at a press conference, said if the OPT period is trimmed to 18-months or less, graduates might not have enough time to find a job.
The parents said they take hefty loans by mortgaging properties to fund their children’s education in the US and if their children were to return soon after completing Masters, they would be in financial problems.
NRI Parents Association president M Raj Kumar said they are pondering to find if there are other countries to which they can send their children for higher education. Vice president of the association, N Susheela said that her daughter has been pursuing Masters course from January 2016.
“I sent her to the US after mortgaging our property. We have already spent Rs 14 lakh which was taken on loan and plan to spend Rs 10 lakh more. I cannot ask her to come back since we already spent money on her Masters and I don’t think I can afford another course here. Only if she gets a job, we will get back the mortgaged property,” Susheela said.
She closed her ears with her palm when a question was asked about the death of the Indian youth who was shot dead in San Francisco, California on Saturday evening. Usually, Indian students or people who work there avoid to inform their parents if they are mugged or threatened at gunpoint. Susheela said that her daughter tries to comfort her saying that she is safe.