Mortal remains of Telangana student murdered in US brought back

Warangal: The mortal remains of student Vamshi Reddy Mamidala, who was shot by a drug addict carjacker in California last week, arrived at his native village, Vangapahad, in Hasanparthy mandal of Warangal Urban district on Friday morning.

The dead body was flown to Hyderabad from California during the wee hours of Friday and brought to Warangal in an ambulance. 

Villagers in large numbers turned up to have a final look of the village lad who, against all odds, decided to go abroad and pursue his dreams.

His father Sanjeeva Reddy and mother Rama Devi were inconsolable after looking at the lifeless body of their beloved son. Relatives and friends could not control their grief either.

Vamshi’s father, a farmer, earlier said the family always wanted him to take up a job in India, but he went abroad as most of his friends were there.

The man who shot Vamshi was being chased by the police as he was involved in an accident.

As he made an attempt to escape, he robbed a woman and took her mobile phone and cash. He also took away her car and drove to the apartment complex where Vamshi was staying. However, as Vamshi’s car was entering the complex, it collided with the addict’s stolen car in the garage. Angered, the addict got out of the vehicle, shot Vamshi and fled.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had extended support to the family and initiated efforts to bring the body back to the country. The state government too announced support to the family.

Union minister Bandaru Dattatreya is expected to visit Vangapahad and console the family.

The cremation procession will start in the afternoon.