Indian youth among 3 killed in US bank shooting
Hyderabad, Sep 7 : An Indian youth was among the three people who were killed when a gunman opened fire at a bank in the US state of Ohio.
Pruthviraj Kandepi 25, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh, and two others, Luis Felipe Calderon, 48, and Richard Newcomer, 64, were shot dead on Thursday by the gunman identified as Omar Perez, 29. Perez was later shot dead by the police.
Five others were also injured in the incident that took place on Thursday morning at the headquarters for the Fifth Third Bank near Fountain Square, Cincinnati.
Kandepi was working as a consultant with the bank. His family in Tenali town of Guntur district was shocked when his friends informed them about the incident over the phone.
Officials of Indian consulate in New York were also in touch with Kandepi's family.
The Telugu Association of North America (TANA) was making arrangements to send the body home.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said Perez acted alone and he entered multiple businesses before going to the bank, reports ABC News.
He opened fire in the building's loading dock before continuing into the lobby area and firing more shots, Isaac added. Thursday's incident is the second this year where an Indian was shot dead in the US.
In July, Sharat Koppu, 26, from Telangana was shot dead by an unidentified person at a restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri.
Last year, Hyderabad techie, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed in a race-triggered attack at a bar in Kansas state.
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In biggest haul, drugs worth Rs 51 cr seized in Meghalaya, 2 held
Shillong (PTI): The Meghalaya Police seized drugs worth over Rs 51 crore, the biggest haul of narcotics in the state so far, in East Jaintia Hills district and arrested two Mizoram-based persons in this connection, a senior officer said on Saturday.
The seizure was made during a coordinated naka-checking conducted by the police and Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) personnel in the Ratacherra area on Friday, he said.
During the operation, a vehicle with three persons, including the driver, on board was intercepted and searched in accordance with due legal procedures.
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Upon checking, 19 plastic soap cases, containing suspected heroin weighing 203.7 grams, were recovered from the possession of one of the three persons, the officer said.
The search of the vehicle led to the recovery of a blue-coloured trolley bag belonging to another occupant of the vehicle.
Suspected crystal meth (methamphetamine) tablets weighing 10.145 kilograms were found in the bag, the police officer said.
'Meth' tablets are banned in India.
Two of the three occupants of the vehicle were arrested, and a preliminary investigation suggested that they are part of an interstate and cross-border drug trafficking syndicate, the officer said.
"The total value of the seized contraband is estimated to be around Rs 51.13 crore", ANTF chief Vikash Kumar told PTI.
The arrested persons hail from Mizoram, he said.
A case has been registered at the ANTF police station, and an investigation is underway to establish the forward and backward linkages related to the seizure, the officer added.
