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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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
