Indian student death: Police confirm suspect died in shootout
New York, July 17: Police in the US have confirmed that the man shot dead in a shootout in Kansas City was the suspect in the killing of Indian student Sharat Koppu, who was from Telangana.
Kansas City police chief Rick Smith told reporters on Monday that they identified the man killed in Sunday's confrontation with police as Marlin Mack, 25, who was seen in the surveillance video from the shooting of Koppu at a restaurant on July 1, according to KCNB television.
Three police officers were injured in two separate shootings involving Mack on Sunday and he was killed in a third one.
KCNB reported that Mack had a criminal history and was released from prison last year. He appeared to be of African descent from the picture released by police.
Police said they received about 40 tips about him, eight of which led to him on Sunday. A $10,000-reward had been announced for information leading to the capture of the suspect in the Indian student's killing.
Koppu, who had come to the US in January and was doing his Masters in computer science at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, was shot dead at a restaurant during what appeared to be a robbery.
According to KCNB, Koppu's cousin Raghu Chowdavaram thanked the police for following up the case.
"The family would like to express their gratitude to the police officers who risked their lives in pursuing this case. We are disheartened to hear that they're injured, and we're praying for a speedy and full recovery," said Chowdavaram.
The three officers were recovering in a hospital
According to police, when two undercover police went to the motel where the suspect was seen, he shot and wounded them before fleeing with another person.
When police tracked him down to a house in the area, he shot another officer there. As many as 50 gun shots were heard during the confrontation, the Star reported.
When the man came out of the house, there was more exchange of gunfire and he was killed, the newspaper reported.
According to reports, Mack was sentenced in 2011 to seven years in prison for robbery and assault but was released in 2015.
Soon after, he was convicted of burglary and sentenced to four years, but released after two years.
The Kansas City where Koppu was killed is in Missouri state. There is also a Kansas City in Kansas state where two Indian engineers from Telangana were attacked at a restaurant in Olathe last year. One of them was killed by a white man while the other was critically injured.
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SC upholds inclusion of ‘secular, socialist’ in Preamble of Constitution
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the inclusion of the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ in the Preamble of the Constitution, confirming their retrospective application from November 26, 1949. The court ruled that the power to amend the Constitution under Article 368 extends to the Preamble, which is an integral part of the document.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna stated, “The power under Article 368 cannot be curtailed. It will equally apply to the Preamble.” The 42nd Constitutional Amendment, which introduced these terms in 1976 during the Emergency, was challenged on grounds of its retrospective application and the lack of states’ ratification.
The petitioners, including BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, argued that the amendment forced a particular economic theory on the nation and violated the original intent of the Constitution. Advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay contended that the Preamble reflects the will of the people at the time of adoption in 1949 and is therefore unalterable.
The court dismissed these objections, affirming that both socialism and secularism are part of the Constitution's Basic Structure. The Bench clarified that socialism refers to a welfare state ensuring equality of opportunity without negating private sector participation or individualism. It emphasised that secularism is embedded in the Constitution, particularly in the principles of equality and fraternity.
Chief Justice Khanna remarked, “Secularism has always been a core feature of the Constitution.” He added that the amendment did not impose socialism as dogma but aligned with the welfare goals enshrined in various constitutional provisions.
