Wife of Indian techie, killed in hate crime, attends Trump's address

Agencies
January 31, 2018

Washington, Jan 31:  Sunayana Dumala, the wife of an Indian engineer who was shot dead in a hate crime shooting in the US last year, on Wednesday attended President Donald Trump's first State of the Union Address.

Sunayana, 32, was invited as a guest by Congressman Kevin Yoder to attend the event.

Mr Yoder said that he had asked Sunayana to be his guest as a recognition for her tireless efforts to promote peace, and as a message to the Indian community that the US is a nation of immigrants and they are welcome here.

"Each year, I have the privilege of inviting one guest to attend the president's State of the Union address. This year, I invited Sunayana Dumala, widow of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, the Indian immigrant who was tragically killed in the hate crime shooting last year at in Olathe," Mr Yoder had said.

Her husband Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a software engineer from Hyderabad, was shot dead while his colleague, Alok Madasani, also Indian, sustained bullet injuries after an American navy veteran opened fire in a crowded suburban bar in Olathe city, Kansas in February last year. Ian Grillot, another man who tried to intervene was also injured.

The shooter, thought they were Middle Easterners and was heard telling them to "get out of my country".

Sunayana met a number of Congressional leaders including House Speaker Paul Ryan before the address.

Paul Ryan acknowledged Sunayana and said he remembers her and is aware of her story.

The Indian-American community welcomed the move.

Brijpal Singh, the chairman of the India Association of Kansas City, said this step will not only assure the Indian community but also send a strong message about the unstinted support from the elected representatives and administration towards the Indian community.

"This further strengthens our belief and confidence in the American system and its Constitution where everyone is respected, loved and is welcome," Mr Singh said in a letter to Mr Yoder.

The State of the Union Address is a traditional annual speech of the US president to a joint session of the Congress where he gives an account of the situation in the country.

Several Democratic lawmakers have said they will not attend the address in protest against Mr Trump reportedly calling some African nations "shithole" countries, a remark that the US President has denied saying.

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News Network
March 11,2020

New Delhi, Mar 11: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “destabilising” the elected Congress government in Madhya Pradesh.

Gandhi also said the PM may have “missed” noticing the 35 per cent crash in global oil prices and asked him to pass on the benefit to Indians by slashing petrol prices.

“Hey @PMOIndia, while you were busy destabilising an elected Congress Govt, you may have missed noticing the 35 per cent crash in global oil prices.

“Could you please pass on the benefit to Indians by slashing #petrol prices to under 60 per litre? Will help boost the stalled economy,” the former Congress chief said on twitter.

Congress' prominent youth leader Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the party on Tuesday and appeared set to join the BJP amid a rebellion in Madhya Pradesh by his supporters, pushing the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government to the brink of collapse.

On Tuesday morning, as much of India was celebrating Holi, Scindia met senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, following which he called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his 7, Lok Kalyan Marg residence.

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News Network
April 27,2020

New Delhi, Apr 27: Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has said the monthlong ongoing lockdown has yielded positive results and that the country has managed to save “thousands of lives”.

Modi, who had a videoconference with various heads of the states on Monday, said the impact of the coronavirus, however, will remain visible in the coming months, according to a press statement released by his office. On the issue of getting back Indians who are overseas, the Prime Minister said that this has to be done keeping in mind the fact that they don’t get inconvenienced and their families are not under any risk.

During the meeting with state heads, Modi advocated for social distancing of at least 6 feet and the use of face masks as a rapid response to tackle COVID-19.

He said that states should put their efforts of converting hotspots, or red zones, into “orange and thereafter green zones”.

India last week eased the lockdown by allowing shops to reopen and manufacturing and farming activities to resume in rural areas to help millions of poor, daily-wage earners. But the economic costs of the nationwide lockdown continue to mount in a country of 1.3 billion people.

Modi, who put India under a strict lockdown on March 25, did not say if the lockdown restrictions will extend after May 3.

India has confirmed over 27,000 cases of the coronavirus, including 872 deaths.

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News Network
July 9,2020

Ujjain, Jul 9: Kanpur encounter main accused Vikas Dubey has been arrested at a police station here on Thursday, as per sources in the Uttar Pradesh government.

"Vikas Dubey, the main accused in Kanpur encounter case, has been arrested at a police station in Ujjain," said UP government sources.

Dubey is the main accused in the encounter that took place in Kanpur last week, in which a group of assailants allegedly opened fire on a police team, which had gone to arrest him.

Eight police personnel were killed in the encounter.

Earlier today, Bahua Dubey and Prabhat Mishra, close aides of the main accused, were killed in separate encounters in Etawah and Kanpur respectively.

Whereas, Shyamu Bajpai, also an aide to Dubey, has been arrested by Chaubeypur police following an encounter. He carried a reward of Rs 25,000. Uttar Pradesh's Special Task Force (STF) had gunned down Vikas Dubey's close aide Amar Dubey in Hamirpur district, earlier on Wednesday.

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