Washington: Two Indian-Americans running a grocery store in the state of Indiana have been shot dead by masked men, sending shock waves among the Sikh community in the US.
The victims, identified as 55-year-old Jagtar Singh Bhatti and 20-year-old Pawan Preet Singh, were originally from Punjab.
Two masked men shot and killed Jagtar Singh, the owner of the store, and Pawan Preet, his employee, at Middlebury Street in the northern Indiana city of Elkhart yesterday. Jagtar Singh was from Preet Nagar in Jalandhar and Pawan Preet belonged to Munnan village in Hoshiarpur.
Condemning the deadly attack during the robbery attempt, Satnam Singh Chahal, executive director of North American Punjabi Association (NAPA), said due to the growing killings, the Sikh Community is living under the shadow of fear and insecurity.
Chahal said Jagtar Singh was running his grocery shop for the last seven years and was living with Palwinder Singh Bhatti.
According to another store employee Bill Sinclair, he was in the store's kitchen when he heard a noise like the pop of a firecracker.
Two girls standing outside told him that two men in masks ran from the store, and when he went inside, he saw Jagtar Singh and Pawan Preet had been shot. NAPA in a statement urged the US government to leave no stone unturned to take all necessary measures to protect the lives and property of NRIs.
Meanwhile, a pal of gloom descended in Preet Nagar, Sodal Road, Jalandhar after the elder son of Jagtar Singh, Palwinder, conveyed the news to the family.