Techie from Andhra, 25, shot dead in the US, days before he was to graduate

The incident took place at West Broad Street of Franklinton in Columbus at around 12.50 am (local time) on Thursday.

HYDERABAD: A 25-year-old Telugu student, days away from graduating with a master’s degree, was shot dead by an unknown miscreant when he resisted a robbery attempt at a fuel station in United States’s Ohio state on Thursday morning, his family said in Andhra Pradesh’s Eluru town on Friday.

The deceased was identified as Veera Saiesh, who had taken a part-time job as the overnight clerk at the gas station. (Facebook/saiesh.veera)

The incident took place at West Broad Street of Franklinton in Columbus at around 12.50 am (local time) on Thursday. The deceased was identified as Veera Saiesh, who had taken a part-time job as the overnight clerk at the gas station.

“We received the information on Thursday night. We have requested the Government of India to help in bringing home the mortal remains,” Saiesh’s uncle, who did not identify himself, told local reporters.

He said an armed man attempted to rob the fuel station where Saiesh worked. “When he resisted the attempt, the assailant opened fire at him before robbing the cash chest,” the uncle said. Saiesh was immediately rushed to a hospital and was pronounced dead after a while. The Columbus Police have released the photos of the suspect and appealed to the people to share any information about him.

Saiesh’s family, which hails from Palakole town of West Godavari district, settled down in Eluru town many years ago. His father Veera Ramana, a lecturer at the local CR Reddy College, died of a heart attack four years ago.

“Saiesh was living with his mother and elder brother in Eluru town before he left for the US in November 2021 to pursue his masters in Ohio,” his uncle said.

According to Rohit Yalamanchili, who has started an online fundraiser, Saiesh was “about to graduate in 10 days and was going to quit the clerk job in a couple of weeks”.

Andhra Pradesh home minister Taneti Vanitha expressed shock over Saiesh’s death. She expressed deep condolences to the bereaved family members and told senior officials to take all steps to bring the mortal remains of Saiesh to his hometown Eluru.