32 year old Indian techie, Mohammed Nizamuddin from Telangana, was shot dead by California police in Santa Clara. The cops shot him after a violent altercation with his roommate allegedly over an AC. Few days before his death, Nizamuddin claimed in a Linkedin post that he was a victim of racial hatred and his employers wrongfully terminated from his job.
According to the Santa Clara Police department, officers received a 911 call about a stabbing incident at 6:08 am local time and arrived at the scene. Then they found two people entangled in a violent clash with knives. An officer reportedly told them to lay down their weapons. While one of them surrendered the weapon, the Indian techie refused to comply and was shot dead by the police to prevent further harm.
“The caller stated the suspect had stabbed one victim in the residence. SCPD officers arrived, encountered the suspect, and were involved in an officer-involved shooting. The suspect was transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead. The victim was transported to a local hospital and is being treated for injuries. The officer was not injured,” the Police statement read.
‘American Mentality Must End’: Nizamuddin
In a post on Linkedin, Nizamuddin said that he was a “victim of racial hatred” and wanted an end to “American mentality”. He spoke about being paid unfairly and “wrongfully terminated” from his job. He said his situation became worse when he was being forced to vacate his accommodation.
The Linkedin post read, “I have been a victim of racial hatred, racial discrimination, racial harassment, torture, wage-fraud, wrongful termination and obstruction of Justice. Today I decided to raise my voice against all odds. Enough is enough, white supremacy/racist white American mentality has to end. Oppression of corporate tyrants must end and everyone involved in it must be punished severely.”
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Nizamuddin levelled allegations against his company EPAM systems which worked for Google of hostility and racial discrimination. “In addition to that the company committed a salary fraud. I was not paid fairly, not in accordance to DOL (Department of Labour) wage-levels. They altogether wrongfully terminated my employment.” He added, “Lately, situation has deteriorated and become worse. My food was poisoned and now I am being evicted out of my current residence for fighting against unjust.”
Further Nizamuddin wrote in his note, “They are the trouble makers and oppressors behind the current chaos, not me. It is happening with me today, and it can happen with anyone tomorrow. So I ask the world to do the needful in demanding justice against the oppression and wrong-doings of people involved. I totally understand I am no saint, but they need to understand they are no God,”.
Nizamuddin also said that his “colleagues, employer, client, detective and their community altogether are the main aggressors”. According to the Indian Techie, the harassment continued through a “racist detective and team” even after he was removed from the job.
Parents seek help from Indian Govt
Mohammed Nizamuddin hailed from Telangana, India. He moved to the US in 2016 for higher studies in Florida and after completing graduation, went to Santa Clara. he lived there in a shared accommodation with a few others. He was working as a software engineer for EPAM Systems. An American company providing software engineering services and has partnership with Google Cloud. As of now, there was no response from the side of the company.
Nizamuddin’s family learnt about the death of his son from one of his friends based in Santa Clara who was also from Karnataka, India. His father Husnuddin said, “I tried calling my son several times, but his phone was switched off. Only later did we learn he had been killed.” The father also appealed to the Indian Government to help him get his son’s body back.
As per reports, four bullets were shot at Nizamuddin. His body remained in a local hospital awaiting further formalities. Amjed Ullah Khan, head of Majlis Bachao Tehreek, a political party in India has written to minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar and sought for assistance in bringing his body back to India.
