The family of 31-year-old Mohammed Nizamuddin from Mahabubnagar district, who was allegedly shot dead by police in Santa Clara, California, on September 3, are unable to come to terms with the tragedy.
“A young life has been taken away. What is worse is that it took US authorities 15 days to inform us, in spite of them having the family details,” Mohammed Khaja Moinuddin, his younger brother, told The Indian Express.
“We were informed on September 18, while the incident occurred on the morning of September 3. My brother’s body is lying in a hospital morgue there. Our parents are unable to understand what happened. My mother has completely shut down after hearing the news, how he died in a hail of bullets,” Moinuddin said.
Nizamuddin worked for Google while he was employed with EPAM Systems from 2021 to 2024. “He quit and was searching for a job. He was sharing a flat with two other roommates who are US citizens,” Moinuddin said.
His father, Mohammed Hasnuddin, is a retired government teacher. His elder sister, Romana Firdaous, is a doctor, while Moinuddin recently completed his B.Tech.
Nizamuddin went to the US in December 2015 for a Master’s course in Computer Science, which he completed from Florida Institute of Technology in 2017. He completed his B.Tech in ECE from Jayaprakash Narayan College of Engineering, Mahbubnagar.
“He used to make video calls once or twice a week. He was very disturbed for several days because he was having some problems with his roommates, but we did not know it was this bad. He complained of racial discrimination and hate, and aggressive behaviour towards him by the roommates. No one has told us what exactly transpired that required the involvement of the police. Why would an innocent man who always minded his business and was kind to others be shot like this?” Moinuddin said.
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Family members said that Nizamuddin quit his job after complaining about discrimination and harassment based on race. In a social media post days before the shooting, he wrote that he faced racial hatred, wage fraud, and wrongful termination.
From his post, it appears that he had received an eviction notice from the house owner and that he was fighting against the eviction because he felt it was unjust. Nizamuddin’s father, Hasnuddin, has written a letter to External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar requesting assistance in bringing his son’s mortal remains back home. “The procedure to bring the body home has been set in motion, but it may take some time,” Hasnuddin said.
