Indian-origin IT executive dies after being assaulted in US
Washington (PTI): A 41-year-old Indian-origin IT executive has died after suffering life-threatening injuries during an assault outside a restaurant in the American capital here, the seventh death of an Indian or Indian-American in the country in recent months.
The victim, identified as Vivek Taneja, a resident of Alexandria, a Virginia suburb of Washington DC, was attacked on February 2 in the 1100 block of 15th Street NW, which is seven blocks away from the White House.
The police reached the assault scene at 2 am and found that he was suffering from life-threatening injuries as a result of the assault. He was transported to a trauma centre unconscious and with severe head injuries.
"On Wednesday, February 7, 2024, the victim succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead," said the Metropolitan Police, Washington DC in a statement on Friday.
The picture of the suspect captured by a surveillance camera has been released by the police, which has offered an award of up to USD25,000 to anyone who provides information and leads to his arrest.
No arrest has been made so far.
In its report, the police said Vivek Taneja was knocked to the ground by the suspect and hit his head on the pavement.
Taneja, the police said, had an altercation with another man at Shoto and Akedo, two sister Japanese restaurants in the Midtown Center building.
Taneja was the co-founder and president of Dynamo Technologies, a technology solutions and analytics product provider to the federal government.
According to the company website, Taneja led Dynamo's strategic, growth, and partnership initiatives, with an emphasis on the federal government contracting arena.
A systems engineer by training, he led numerous technical consulting engagements across the public and private sectors.
Taneja received his B.A. in Economics and Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Virginia, his M.S. in Telecommunications from George Mason University, and his D.Eng. in Engineering Management and Systems Engineering from George Washington University.
Earlier this week, Syed Mazahir Ali, an Indian student was attacked by robbers in Chicago.
Earlier, 25-year-old Indian student Vivek Saini was fatally attacked in Georgia state's Lithonia city by a homeless drug addict.
Last week, a student at the Lindner School of Business in the US state of Ohio identified as 19-year-old Shreyas Reddy Beniger was found dead. However, local authorities have ruled out foul play.
Sameer Kamath, a 23-year-old Indian-American student at Purdue University, was found dead in a nature preserve in Indiana on February 5.
Another Indian student, identified as Neel Acharya at Purdue University, Indiana, was confirmed dead days after being reported missing on January 28.
Akul B Dhawan, an 18-year-old at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was found dead last month with signs of hypothermia.
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Heavy rain, hailstorms likely to lash Uttarakhand on Tuesday; IMD issues warning
Dehradun/Pithoragarh (PTI): The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning for heavy rain and hailstorms across several districts of Uttarakhand on Tuesday, as temperatures remained markedly below normal in the region.
Heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places in Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, Nainital, Champawat, and Udham Singh Nagar districts. Most places across all districts are expected to receive light to moderate rain or thunderstorms, while higher reaches are likely to witness snowfall, officials said on Monday.
The weather department warned of thunderstorms accompanied by lightning, hail and intense spells of rain in six districts, including Dehradun and Nainital. Gusty winds with speeds reaching 40-50 kmph are also expected at isolated locations in these areas and other hilly districts.
In the state capital, Dehradun, the sky is forecast to remain partly cloudy with light rain and thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds of 30-40 kmph.
The maximum and minimum temperatures in the city are expected to hover around 31 degrees Celsius and 19 degrees Celsius, respectively.
Maximum temperatures during the past 24 hours remained markedly below normal in the hills and appreciably below normal in the plains. While no significant change in temperature is expected over the next 2-3 days, the IMD predicts a rise of 3-5 degrees Celsius during the subsequent 3-4 days.
Rainfall was recorded in several areas after 8.30 am today, with Ramnagar receiving 31.5 mm and Nainital recording 26.5 mm. Other areas, including Pithoragarh, Khatima and Champawat, also reported moderate precipitation.
Authorities have stopped a batch of 36 Adi Kailash pilgrims at the Dharchula base camp and placed the high-altitude yatra route on high alert following heavy rains and hailstorms in the district on Monday.
Dharchula SDM Ashish Joshi said the pilgrimage was halted due to adverse weather conditions. The issuance of new inner-line passes has been suspended until the weather normalises.
With 1,700 passes issued so far, pilgrims already at higher camps are being monitored for safety, the official added.
