Gandhinagar: In a saddening incident, a 30-year-old Gujarati man, Paresh Patel, was tragically killed during a robbery at a store in Lewisburg, Tennessee, USA. Patel, a native of Dingucha village in Kalol taluka of Gandhinagar district, was working at the store cash counter when the crime took place.
According to reports, the assailant entered the store pretending to be a customer, made a few purchases, and then attempted a robbery at the cash counter. Patel complied with the robber’s demands, handing over the cash. However, the attacker proceeded to fatally shoot him before fleeing the scene. Patel succumbed to his injuries on the spot. Local police have launched an investigation into the incident.
Patel had been living and working in the United States for the past 10 years. News of his death has plunged his native village and family into mourning. This tragic event comes not long after another grievous loss in the same village. Last year, four members of a family from Dingucha, Jagdish Patel (39), his wife Vaishali (37), and their children Vihangi (11) and Dharmik (3), died from exposure while attempting to cross the U.S.-Canada border illegally in freezing conditions. Their bodies were discovered on January 19, 2023.
Raising concerns over the safety of Indians abroad, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh informed Parliament in December that 86 Indian nationals were either assaulted or killed abroad in 2023, with 12 such incidents reported in the United States alone.
