The killing of an Indian academic who had been living in the US for close to four decades has stunned the natives of Tulsipur Majha village, his birthplace.
Dr Shriram Singh, 58, a native of Gonda was gunned down in Georgia capital Atlanta on Wednesday.
He was going to attend a programme in Atlanta by car when some unknown people fired at his car indiscriminately, Tulsipur Majha village head Lalji Singh said.
The news of his killing was borne by his son Amit Singh.
Lalji Singh said Dr Singh joined as a professor at Atlanta Agricultural University in the US in 1990.
He had started some business recently in the country which was his home for 37 years.
Dr Singh's younger brother Shivaji Singh, who lives in the village, said his brother had done his postgraduate from Acharya Narendra Dev Agricultural University Kumarganj in Ayodhya before leaving for the US.
After completing his doctorate there, he joined as a professor at Atlanta Agricultural University and since then, he had been living in the US with his family, he said.
His elder son Amit Singh is an engineer in the FBI, while the younger son Ankur Singh is a cancer specialist in the US, his brother said.
According to Shivaji Singh, Dr Singh had made a deep inroad in the US with his social skills.
"Two years ago, he left his job and turned to business in partnership. His business was expanding rapidly in a short time. Along with a shopping mall, he ventured into the business of petrol pumps and hotels. He started many works in partnership with businessmen of Punjab and Gujarat origin," he said.
"Some time ago, some businessmen of Pakistani origin also joined him. In a short time, the scope of his business spread all over the US. Due to this, some rivals started getting annoyed with him," he said.
Lalji Singh said Dr Singh was very social and used to meet all the villagers whenever he would come here.
He had last come to the village about two years ago and was scheduled to visit again in March next year.
"The people of the village are saddened by his murder. They have demanded security for his family and strict punishment for the culprits by investigating the murder," he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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