Kumar’s killer is yet to be nabbed.
WASHINGTON, DC: The body of Rajinder Kumar, a gas station clerk, who was shot dead in Hanover, Maryland, earlier this month, was flown to India on Thursday.
In a commendable move, members of the Indian and Indian American community in the area raised $22,000 and the Embassy of India contributed $3,000, to bear expenses and fly the body back. The Community Affairs minister at the Indian Embassy, N.K. Mishra, was at the airport.
Kumar, 49, had just finished a year working at the gas station, to send money back to his wife and two college-going sons in India.
Bakshish Singh, a Sikh community leader who led the fundraising efforts, along with Dharam Singh Guraya, said most of the money was raised by gurdwaras in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.
“Rajinder Kumar was a honest, decent and hardworking guy,” Singh told The American Bazaar. “I was personally saddened by the tragedy.”
He said he was moved by the television images of his grieving family pleading the Indian government to bring the body back to India.
Singh commended the local Sikh community for raising the money.
“It was a good gesture on the part of Sikh community,” he said.
Out of the $25,000 raised by the community, roughly $10,000 was spent on flight charges and funeral home expenses.
According to WBALTV, Anne Arundel county police are yet to nab the cold-blooded murderer of Kumar, whose body was found by a customer at the Exxon gas station at the intersection of Annapolis Boulevard and Ridge Road in Hanover.
Police said surveillance video at the scene showed a man entering the gas station and confronting Kumar shortly after 1 a.m. The video showed the assailant shooting Kumar and then taking cash from behind the counter before running away, officials said.
According to detectives, the man intended to kill as he entered the store and pulled the trigger, but when the gun didn’t fire, he kept trying until it did. Authorities said the video indicated that there was no reason for the assailant to shoot Kumar, who was working alone at the time, reported WBALTV.
Police said the shooter was black, of an unknown age with an average build. They said he was wearing a mask, gloves, dark hooded sweatshirt, tan or light-colored shorts, and he had a handgun.
Jagdeep Singh, the victim’s roommate, said Kumar worked hard to send money back to his wife in India and pay for his kids’ education. He said he was making plans to return to India at the end of this year.
“Very nice guy. A real nice and humble guy. He would never say anything bad to anyone,” Singh was quoted as saying. “He was working to get his kids well-educated. His son was going to the university, and it cost a lot of money, so he was working to earn some money so he could get his son and daughter an education.”
Friends said Kumar spoke very little English, and they don’t think he would have argued or resisted. His boss said he usually locked the door around 1 a.m., but it was unlocked when the shooting happened.