Hyderabad: In a yet another incident of an alleged hate crime against an Indian in US, a student pursuing his Masters in Business Administration was shot dead from point-blank range in the north-eastern Philadelphia city of Pennsylvania state.
The victim identified as Kuncha Anshul, aged 28, a native of Gundlapochampally mandal of Medchal-Malkajgiri district in Telangana; was gunned down shortly after exiting a house, after delivering pizzas on call on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, June 6.
None of the media outlets in US have revealed the name of the victim, or his background yet.
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According to the Sheriff, the incident happened shortly after Friday midnight, when “our victim” delivered a pizza in a vacant house located in the Raymond Rosen Homes, on the 2300 Block of the Edgley Street in north Philadelphia.
The Sheriff said that the victim (Anshul) had delivered 3 boxes of pizzas in a bag, which were found untouched during the investigation, and had just exited the house, but he was found lying in a lifeless condition in the very compound of the house minutes later.
He was declared dead on arrival by the doctors at the Temple University Hospital.
According to a local media outlet, the police have found 3 shells of fired bullets right beside the body, with gunshot wounds behind the victim’s (Anshul) head, which indicated that he may have been shot from a close range.
The investigators have also found CCTV footage of the victim (Anshul) walking with the pizza boxes, while two individuals wearing dark clothing followed him, and one of them were wearing a backpack.
The Sheriff has also confirmed that the police has the phone number from which the delivery was placed.
Back home, Anshul’s family members were devastated by the shocking news.
Anshul’s younger sister suspected that it could have been a decoy operation by those who wanted to kill her brother, who had no reason to go to US in search of a livelihood.
She urged the Indians not to send their wards to US, claiming that conditions were not safe for the Indians living there.
She also recalled that even in the past her brother was robbed of money, cell phone and all belongings on the streets of Philadelphia, and felt that this was an extension of that crime.
“If possible, I want justice for my brother’s death,” she appealed to the Indian Consulate in the US, urging them to help bring back Anshul’s body back home as early as possible.
The US media quoted the ‘Pete’s Pizza’ where Anshul was working, as describing him as a “Great Kid.”
He was studying at the Temple University, while working as a pizza delivery boy to fund his education during night shifts.
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