Parents of techie in a state of shock

HYDERABAD: A pall of gloom descended on the residence of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a city-based software professional who was shot in Kansas City, on Thursday.

Scores of relatives thronged his house at Pranay Bounty layout in Bachupally, on Friday afternoon, even as distraught parents stayed locked indoors and refused to speak. Srinavas’ kin said the elderly couple was in shock.

Born to K Madhusudhana Sastry, 70, a retired scientist with

Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited

and Parvathavardhini, 67, Srinivas was their second-born. Both his brothers, 35-year-old Venu Madhav and 27-year-old K K Sastry are IT professionals working in the US. The youngest, Sastry, came to the city last week on a short vacation.

“There is no way we can get over his loss,” said Sastry, while pleading with curious onlookers and media personnel to stop bombarding the family with questions and let them mourn in peace.

“No one would have expected such a tragedy to hit home,” said his visibly shaken cousin, Rentachintala Sastry, who had been living in the US since 2006. In 2012, Srinivas was married Sunayana Dumala.

Recalling the tragic turn of events, his maternal uncle Krishna Mohan said: “A friend called and told us that Srinivas was injured in an accident. Later in the night, we received a call from the ministry of external affairs informing us about his death in a shootout.” Fighting back tears, Mohan said many from Hyderabad go to the US to study or work and “not to be killed”. The sense of despair in his voice was hard to miss.

Srinivas and family members who have roots in Machilipatnam moved to Hyderabad, four decades ago. Their current residence, his uncle said, was bought by the 32-year-old after he landed his first job. Prior to joining

Garmin International

, in 2014, Srinivas was employed with

Rockwell Collins

.

His uncle said they were waiting for his body to arrive. MEA officials, he said, had informed the family it would take at least two-three days for the procedure and the body to be flown back to India.