Hyderabad, March 24: Of all the places in America, Oklahoma is notorious for its crime rate. And, Prashanth, who was shot dead at a convenience store in that city on Sunday, was well aware of it.
‘‘I warned him against going there when he called me last week. I suggested that he head to New York and offered to give telephone numbers and addresses of my acquaintances to help him get a part-time job. I was not aware that he had gone to Oklahoma despite my advice to the contrary,’’ Prashanth’s relative Chandrasekhar, who had been in the US for a couple of years, told Express. What could have prompted the 22-year-old from moving to Oklahoma from California where he had enrolled himself in the MBA programme of the International Technological University at Sunnyvale? Under the new virtual study system in the US, a student can stay anywhere in the country and do his course from any college.
In search of a part-time job, Prashanth perhaps zeroed in on Oklahoma as, it seems, the pay is almost double there compared to other cities.
His parents, who stay at Champapet, are yet to come to terms with the tragedy. ‘‘He was an affectionate boy. He would caution me whenever I would return home late. He had made it a point to call me regularly to check whether I had reached home safely,’’ his father G Rajaiah, an employee of the medical and health department, recalled.
The boy was particularly close to his mother Bharathi and sister Swathi. They last heard from him on Sunday morning when he called to give a pep talk to his sister ahead of her MBBS exams.
‘‘He told me not to panic and said he would call me again in the evening. I kept waiting for his call but it never came. Perhaps, he was no more by then,’’ Swathi, fighting back her tears, said.
The family members are even more disturbed by the fact that neither the State Government nor the Central Government officials are making any effort to bring the body back. ‘‘Till now, no one has contacted us. I plead with the government to bring my son’s body back. We want to see him one last time,’’ Rajaiah said.
–Agencies