Indian-origin entrepreneur killed by homeless fellow Indian on Texas bus

An Indian man fatally stabbed 30-year-old Akshay Gupta on a bus in Austin, Texas. The attack was unprovoked, and Kandel later admitted to the crime, citing a resemblance to his uncle

In a horrific public murder, Akshay Gupta, a 30-year-old Indian-origin man who was the co-founder of a health startup, was stabbed to death by a fellow Indian in a public bus in Austin, Texas on the evening of May 14.

 

Police and emergency medical services responded to a shoot/stab call of someone being stabbed on a bus. When officers arrived at the crime scene, they found Gupta with injuries to his body.

 

The Austin Police Department said that life-saving measures were performed, but Gupta was eventually pronounced dead at the scene.

 

The suspect of the crime was identified as 31-year-old Deepak Kandel. Investigations revealed that Kandel was sitting next to Gupta on the bus when, without provocation, he stabbed his fellow passenger in the neck. CBS Austin reported that Kandel has a long arrest history but has never been prosecuted. 

 

 

According to KXAN network, CCTV video showed Gupta “sitting in the back portion of the bus looking down and not speaking with anyone. Without provocation, the suspect… is seen raising a butcher style knife above his head” and stabbing Gupta.

 

After the driver stopped the bus, Kandel exited the vehicle with the other passengers and walked away. Patrol officers tracked down Kandel soon after and detained him. The suspect admitted to stabbing Gupta because he resembled Kandel's uncle.

 

Kandel was booked into the Travis County Jail and has been charged with 1st degree murder. According to CBS Austin television channel, court records revealed that Kandel has an extensive arrest history, including serious offenses, with prosecutors declining to prosecute him multiple times. Local channel KXAN reported that Kandel, who is homeless, has a criminal history — mostly misdemeanors — going back to 2016.

 

According to the Travis County database, CBS Austin reported, Kandel has been arrested more than a dozen times, with prosecutors declining to prosecute him four times, filing no charges twice, and dismissing his case three other times.

 

"For officers, this whole situation is indicative of the frustration that everybody feels," Michael Bullock, President of the Austin Police Association, was quoted as saying. "We put in the work, we go out there, we try to hold people accountable, and then prosecutors do absolutely nothing."