By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington: Three people have been arrested in the US on charges of gunning down an Indian software engineering student from Hyderabad during an apparent robbery at Bridgeport in Connecticut.
Arun Kumar Narote, 26, a student at Stratford University, was working as a part-time store clerk at a grocery store to earn some money for his studies, when he was gunned down by unidentified assailants on July 14.
The Bridgeport police said they have arrested three individuals on murder charges: Luis Tores, 25; Vanessa Ortiz, 21, and accused getaway driver, Marisol Malave, 31. Each is being detained on $2 million bond pending a July 27 court appearance.
Terming it as an act of senseless gun violence, the university in a statement said its staff, faculty and students will participate in a memorial service in Narote’s honour on July 26. The brief service will be hosted by Hindu priest Amarnath from the Embassy of India, it said.
The ceremony will take on the 13th day following Narote’s death in accordance with Hindu tradition where friends and family observe 13 days of mourning, Stratford University Vice President for International Programmes, Feroze Khan, said.
“This will truly be a sad day as we remember Arun, one of our most popular students here at Stratford,” Richard R Shurtz, President of Stratford University, said, adding, “Arun will certainly be missed by the entire school. Our thoughts are prayers go out to Arun’s family and friends.”
A native of Hyderabad, Narote earned his undergraduate degree from the city’s Indra Reddy Memorial Engineering College.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])