VIJAYAWADA: A senior pharma executive of Indian origin with roots in Visakhapatnam was shot dead by a gunman at his residence in New Jersey, US, on Tuesday, local media reported. Identifying the deceased as Sree Ranga Aravapalli (54), CEO of Aurex Laboratories, CBC New York newspaper reported that he was “killed in a robbery attempt allegedly by a man who followed him home from a casino after seeing him win nearly $10,000 (around Rs 7.5 lakh).”
Aravapalli had left Visakhapatnam for the US in 2000 and completed his Masters in Information Technology at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He later became the CEO of Aurex Laboratories, an online pharmaceutical company in 2014. Aravapalli had also played a key role in setting up a research centre of Aurex pharma at Kukatpally in Hyderabad.
Aravapalli, who shifted his family to New Jersey in 2017, is survived by wife, a son pursuing a degree course, and daughter. According to US authorities, the incident took place around 3.30 am (local time) on Tuesday after Aravapalli had left had Parx Casino and was heading home to Plainsboro. The accused, Jekai Reid-John (27) followed Aravapalli in his car for about 80 kilometres and murdered the older man in an attempted robbery while his wife and daughter were sleeping inside the house.
“He cashed out his night’s big winnings, about US$10,000, in the early morning hours of Tuesday at the Parx Casino in Bensalem when he was spotted with the loot by 27-year-old Jekai Reid-John, of Pennsylvania’s Norristown. The assailant John targeted him in Pennsylvania and followed him home to his Plainsboro,”investigating officers told. The Aravapallis were well-known in the local community, reports said.
Left Vizag in 2000
Aravapalli had left Visakhapatnam for the US in 2000 and completed his Masters in Information Technology at the New Jersey Institute of Technology