Indian-American doctor shot dead in Michigan

Washington, May 7

A 32-year-old Indian-American doctor has been shot dead under mysterious circumstances in a car in the US state of Michigan.

Rakesh Kumar, who worked in the Urology Department of the Henry Ford Hospital, was found dead on the passenger seat of a car in a rest area, some 90 miles out of Detroit, on late Thursday evening.

Police are investigating the case to ascertain the cause of his death.

The family members of Kumar say they do not suspect anyone and have ruled out the possibility of it being an incident of hate crime.

"We do not know (the reason for his murder). They (The police) are yet to find out," his father Narendra Kumar, a former president of the influential American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), told PTI.

"We do not suspect anything. We do not think, it was a hate crime," said a shocked Kumar.

Rakesh was a medical graduate from the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi.

When he did not show up for his work, a hospital doctor called his father to enquire about him.

"This was quite unusual," the father said.

He said he made several phone calls and sent text messages to his son, but there was no response.

The father went to his son's apartment and called the police when he did not find him there.

After hours of search, police found the dead body of Rakesh in the passenger seat of a car at a rest area.

By late night on Thursday, the body was identified as that of Rakesh.

The police have refrained from making any comments about the incident.

There has been a surge in hate crimes against the Hindu and Sikh communities in the US after Donald Trump became the President of the country.

Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla was killed when a US Navy veteran Adam Purinton opened fire at him and his friend Alok Madasani before yelling "get out of my country" in February.

In Florida, an Indian-American family's store was almost burnt to the ground and many more have been harassed and threatened. — PTI