‘Is it worth it for these youths to go to US amid this tension?’

FOR THE family of Alok Reddy Madasani, who was injured in the Kansas shooting, it was a day of immense grief and relief.

“We are lucky our son survived, but we feel devastated that his friend Srinivas died. They were best friends for many years. Srinivas was like a son to us,” said Madasani Jagan Mohan Reddy, Alok’s father.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, an Indian engineer, died in the shooting. His friend Alok, 32, and Srinivas were colleagues.

“They worked together, lived near each other, they were always together. It is unthinkable that they have been separated so cruelly,’’ Reddy, Chief Engineer in the Telangana Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Department, said.

He went on to describe how his sons Alok and Surender and their wives, and Srinivas and his wife lived a happy life in the US. “It was a dream come true for them; the dream of working and settling in the US. This tragedy has shaken them all,’’ he said.

“My son is inconsolable and in shock. He is lucky that two bullets missed him and one hit him in the leg. His best friend was not so lucky. I now wonder whether it is worth it for all these young people to go to the US amid this racial tension. My other son is in Dallas. I am concerned about his safety now.”

Reddy went to meet Srinivas’ parents at their house in Spring Woods at Bachupally, where he broke down. He also met Srinivas’s in-laws.

“I thank God that my son has survived but it is a great tragedy that Srinivas lost his life. His parents are inconsolable,” he said.

Alok has been released from the hospital.

AP Alok Reddy; his father Jagan Mohan in background.