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.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
