Ex- Indian envoy N. Chandra declares Kansas shooting a hate crime

Former Indian envoy to the United States Naresh Chandra on Friday described the murder of Indian origin engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla in Kansas as a hate crime.

"This is definitely a hate crime, something that has happened before. This shows the dangerous trends that exist amongst disgruntled people," Chandra told ANI in an interview.

He also said racial discrimination is prevalent in the United States.

"In the run-up to the elections, passions had been whipped up against immigrants and foreigners. Now, it has become white versus non-white," he said.

Expressing faith in the Trump Administration with regard to steps being taken to get to the bottom of the causes behind the shooting, Chandra, however, was critical of the various appointments made by the former recently.

"I am sure the Trump administration must be watching it carefully and the FBI and the local police must have taken prompt action," he said.

"The unfortunate part is that some appointments made by the Trump Administration have produced role models of a very different kind. They are not liberal and have been making bad speeches, which in a way has enhanced the feeling of victimhood," he suggested.

The gunman who shot Kuchibhotla has been identified as Adam Purinton, a Navy veteran by the local police.

He had allegedly shot Srinivas and wounded his colleague Alok Madasani while screaming racial slurs at them such as 'get out of my country'.