I’ll be back in a few days, said Jaryal in his last call to family
Vikram Jaryal was supposed to go to England for the merchant navy second mate test.
However, it was destiny that took the 26-year-old—who was shot dead in Washington’s Yakima city on Thursday — from Punjab to the United States.
Vikram had joined his friend’s convenience store only two days before he was killed by armed robbers.
His elder brother Inderjit said both of them served in the merchant navy. “Vikram was to undertake the examination after signing off his current assignment. However, he postponed it to the end of the year and instead, obtained a tourist visa to the US for a short vacation,” said Inderjit, who was the first to be told about his brother’s death.
Vikram last spoke to his family members on April 5 to inform them that he was having a good time in the US and would return in a few days.
“We still can’t believe he is no more. I wish he had not gone there,”said his grief-stricken father, subedar (retd) Parshottam Singh .
His mother Poonam is in shock. The family, which is awaiting the body, urged external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to arrange for its early release.
The minister responded positively and tweeted that India was coordinating with investigation agencies in the US to get the culprits apprehended.
Inderjit said the Indian consulate in San Francisco was in touch with the family and assured them of sending the body back early next week. “They said Saturday and Sunday are holidays so the death certificate and other formalities can be completed only on Monday,” he added.