HYDERABAD: Aila Saikiran (22), who was shot dead by unidentified miscreants in Florida, USA, on Sunday afternoon (IST) is alive, at least for his mother back home at Subramanyanagar here in Kushaiguda.
Even as the other family members are grieving the loss of their young one just 44 days after he left for the US for higher education, his mother Rupa Bhavani (42) has been kept in the dark about the shocking tragedy. His father Sri Hari (53), a business man, and younger brother Avinash (20), a second-year BE student, have been struggling to maintain as if nothing has happened.
“She is very sensitive and definitely not in a position to the hear it. We will inform her in two-three days. She keeps asking about him and we could not conceal the truth entirely. We have told her Saikiran met with an accident and is fine in a hospital. But even then, I am not strong enough to go in front of her,” Aila Sravan Kumar, Saikiran’s paternal uncle told Express.
He revealed that the iPhone, which the miscreants wanted to snatch from Saikiran, was bought by the boy just four days before. “He had just bought a new laptop and an iPhone four days before the incident. He used to talk to his parents and younger brother everyday,” recalled Kumar.
Saikiran, who graduated in engineering last year, was denied a US visa the first time he had applied. According to Kumar, Saikiran was a very good student and wanted to pursue his master’s in the US like most of his friends. “All friends went together. His visa was first denied in Mumbai. Later, he got it in Chennai,” he said.
After leaving for Little Havana in South Florida for his master’s at the University of Florida, Saikiran had informed his parents that he would be back in August or September. His roommate in Little Havana, Manoj, who also hails from ECIL area in the city, has lodged a complaint with the local police there.
“We are told that there is no progress in the case. His roommate Manoj is pursuing the case with authorities there. We have sent him an authorisation letter to send the body back home. We expect to receive the body in about two- three days,” informed Sravan Kumar.
The Telugu Association of North America, he said, has been doing everything in its power to send the body back home.
