E-Paper
Indian man from Telangana called for pizza delivery, shot dead in US' Philadelphia
Reacting to Anshul Kuncha's death, the Indian Consulate General in New York said that they were “deeply saddened” by the incident.
An Indian man was reportedly shot dead in the United States while delivering pizza in Pennsylvania's Philadelphia earlier this week. According to local reports, the incident happened on Friday midnight in North Philadelphia.
The man was reportedly murdered. Someone ordered a pizza and then shot the delivery person in the head, leading to his death, reported CBS news.
The victim was a 28-year-old man, according to the report, who was taken to Temple University Hospital by the police where he was declared dead at around 1 am on intervening night of Friday and Saturday (local time).
While the CBS report did not mention the name of the victim, according to a PTI report, he was identified as Anshul Kuncha.
Reacting to Kuncha's death, the Indian Consulate General in New York said that they were “deeply saddened” by the incident.
“We are deeply saddened by the untimely demise of Mr. Anshul Kuncha, an Indian national in Philadelphia, PA. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences to his family during this difficult time. The Consulate is in touch with Anshul’s family and is extending all possible assistance,” it wrote in a post on X.
Also read: Kolkata couple held for DU professor’s murder in Delhi, property row motive: Police
What happened
According to the CBS report, someone ordered a pizza at a vacant home at Raymond Rosen Homes, a housing complex in Philadelphia. The victim delivered the order at the address and was seemingly shot after leaving the complex.
In a footage captured by the Philadelphia Housing Authority cameras, the victim is seen walking with the pizza. He was followed by two people who wore dark clothes and carried a backpack.
Also read: India's fertility rate now below required level to maintain stable population, says govt report
Who is Anshul Kuncha?
Anshul Kuncha was in the US to pursue his Master's degree in Business Analytics and graduated in 2024. According to his LinkedIn, he worked as Data Validation Analyst at DataBank IMX in Pennsylvania.
Before that, he pursued his Bachelor of Technology in Chemical Engineering from Chaitanya Bharathi Institute Of Technology in Telangana's Hyderabad.
In the US, Kuncha worked as pizza delivery executive part-time on weekends to make extra income.
Kuncha's sister Tanvi alleged that a "trap" was set up to kill him. "We were informed that he (Anshul) was shot in the head three times and left on the road," she said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
"It was a trap. It was to kill him. I don't know what they gained out of it or what intentions they had. They took my brother and killed him," she added.
Tanvi sought justice for her brother and requested the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bring back Anshul's body at the earliest.
"We have been informed the body would be handed over on Monday. Just give us our brother back. That's all I want. And I do want justice. We don't have any suspicion...it's a decoy. As per US media reports, it seems there were two gunmen wearing black masks with backpacks," she said.
The police are investigating the matter and are looking for more footage to identify the shooters.
