Hyd techie Srinivas Kuchibholta murder: US Navy veteran sentenced to life by court

In the shooting that took place in a Kansas city pub last year, US Navy veteran Adam Purinton was sentenced to life in jail for killing Srinivas Kuchibhotla, the Indian techie from Hyderabad.

Kuchibhotla and his colleague Alok were having a drink at a local bar on February 22 last year when they had an altercation with Purinton who had reportedly been shouting racial slurs.

He reportedly shouted “get out of my country” and “terrorist” before firing shots at them. An American national, Ian Grillot tried to intervene and chased Purinton after he fled the bar but got injured in the attack. Five hours after the incident, Purinton was arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder.

He went on to injure two others - Alok Madasani and Ian Grillot.

Due to the racial hate crime involvement,  the tragic death had sparked international outrage.

According to the news agency AFP, Purinton received the maximum punishment for the murder and two sentences of 165 months each for the attempted murders. He would be eligible for parole in 50 years but was likely to spend the rest of his life in prison, as per the report.

The accused has earlier pleaded not guilty in the federal case and in March this year, he pleaded guilty to the charges of murdering Kuchibhotla.

Welcoming the decision, Kuchibhotla’s wife Sunayana said that the verdict will send a strong message that hate is never acceptable.