Sushma Swaraj says 26-year-old Indian killed in shootout in US

A 26-year-old Indian, Vikram Jaryal, was killed in a shootout incident in the US' Washington state, tweeted External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday. She said that India is coordinating with the American investigative agencies.

The Minister said that the Indian Consulate in San Francisco is helping the family of 26-year-old Vikram Jaryal, who was shot dead allegedly by two masked armed robbers.

"I have received a report on the shootout incident resulting in the tragic death of Indian national Vikram Jaryal in Washington State USA," Swaraj tweeted.

While the Minister indicates that this was a shootout in a robbery incident, the fact is Indians have been at the receiving end of hate crimes in the US since Donald Trump took over as the 45th American President. A 32-year-old software engineer, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, was shot dead in a Kansas bar on February 20 by a white man, Adam Purinton. Ten days later, on March 2, a Lancaster store owner Harnish Patel was killed, though it wasn’t clear whether it was a hate crime. The next day, Deep Rai, was shot and injured in front of his house in Seattle by a gunman who shouted "go back to your own country”.

According to the minister’s tweets, Vikram had reached the US just 25 days back and was working at the gas station of a family friend.

Jaryal, who worked as a clerk at AM-PM Gas Station in Yakima city, was behind the counter when the incident happened. His family had yesterday sought Swaraj's help to bring his body back. Jaryal hailed from Hoshiarpur district in Punjab.

"On April 6, two miscreants entered the shop at 1.30 am. They snatched cash from victim and shot on his chest. This resulted in his death," Swaraj said.

"We are coordinating with the investigative agencies. They have got the CCTV footage and are in the process of apprehending the culprits," she said.

"Our consulate in San Francisco is helping the family and following this up with the Police authorities," Swaraj added.

With PTI inputs