Indian envoy to visit US after Kansas killing

Top diplomat expected to discuss expat safety, visa restrictions

New Delhi’s top diplomat will travel to Washington this week for talks with US officials as anger grows over the death of an Indian expatriate in a suspected hate crime.

Thousands of Indians visit the US every year for work or study, and the killing of 32- year- old engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla in a Kansas bar last week has caused shock waves around the country.

A second Indian engineer, Alok Madasani, was injured in the shooting by a white man whom witnesses said screamed racial slurs.

A ministry official said Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar would travel to Wash- ington on Tuesday for a “wide- ranging bilateral discussion,” without giving further details.

Reports said Jaishankar, the most senior Indian official to visit since President Donald Trump took office, would discuss proposed restrictions to so- called H- 1B visas as well as seeking reassurances on the safety of Indian expatriates.

India’s IT sector uses H- 1B visas to send thousands of highly- skilled workers to America every year.

News of the visit came after an Indian minister described hate crimes as “shameful,” adding to a growing chorus of demands for Washington to act.

In an editorial on Monday The Times of India said the shooting had shocked the Indian community in the US and urged Trump to “make it clear that such hate is not acceptable in his America.”

US authorities have charged Adam Purinton, 51, with premeditated first- degree murder over the shooting, and are looking into whether it was a hate crime.

Hundreds of people marched and prayed Sunday in the Midwestern US city where an Indian expatriate was killed and another wounded in a suspected hate crime that has prompted calls for action. Throngs of concerned citizens and mourners marched through the Kansas City suburb in memory of the slain man and in celebration of Madasani’s survival. The event also honored Ian Grillot, a white bar patron being hailed a hero for trying to help. He is being treated in hospital for gunshot wounds in the chest and hand.

Bundled in winter coats, marchers stretched for blocks down a sidewalk near the city’s Ball Conference Center, holding posters with messages about peace and unity, and chanting slogans such as “Together we stand, divided we fall!” and “Unity is part of community!”