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US man accused of murdering Indian techie Srinivas gets life term

US man accused of murdering Indian techie Srinivas gets life term

Srinivas

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52-year-old Purinton was charged with first-degree murder of Kuchibhotla

A US man accused of killing India engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla last year has been sentenced to life in prison. US Navy veteran Adam Purinton pleaded guilty in March of killing Srinivas in a racially motivated hate crime at a bar in Kansas city last year.

52-year-old Purinton was charged with first-degree murder of Kuchibhotla. He was also charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder of Kuchibhotla's friend, Alok Madasani, and a bystander who had chased Purinton after he fled the bar.

According to reports, Purinton, yelled, "Get out of my country," before shooting Kuchibhotla, who succumbed to injuries and was declared dead.

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Purinton was sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge in Kansas yesterday. He will also serve 165 months imprisonment for each of the other two murder charges.

Kuchibhotla's wife Sunayana Dumala welcomed the court's decision but added that the ruling will not get back her deceased husband.

"Today's sentencing in the murder of my husband will not bring back my Srinu, but it sends a strong message that hate is never acceptable," Dumala said in a statement.

"I want to thank the District Attorney's office and the Olathe police for their efforts to bring this man to justice," she added.

Srinivas, 33, hailed from Hyderabad and moved to theUS to study engineering at the University of Texas. He worked as an aviation systems engineer at Garmin. Srinivas used to meet his friends customarily at Kansas's Austin's Bar and Grill where the tragic incident occurred on February 22 last year.

Srinivas' murder sparked international outcry and raised debates over hate crimes and racial bullying in the country shortly after President Donald Trump's inauguration.

The US President received much flak for not speaking on the incident, he later spoke about the same during his Congressional address. Kuchibhotla's wife Sunayana Dumala was invited to Trump's first State of the Union address in January.

(With inputs from agencies)