Santa Clara police in California, USA, shot dead 32-year-old Indian techie Mohammed Nizamuddin from Telangana’s Mahabubnagar district on September 3 after responding to a 911 call about a stabbing incident at his residence.
Police said officers encountered Nizamuddin armed with a knife and involved in a violent altercation with his roommate, who was injured in the incident. He was taken to hospital but later died.
The police defended the action as necessary to prevent further harm and said two knives were recovered from the scene.
Nizamuddin’s family, however, allege that he was racially harassed at work and wrongfully terminated from his job.
Nizamuddin declared in a LinkedIn post, “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. I have faced a lot of hostility, poor / unacceptable environment, racial discrimination, and racial harassment. In addition to that the company committed a salary fraud.
I was not paid fairly, not in accordance to DOL wage-levels. They altogether wrongfully terminated my employment. It did not end there. They continued their harassment, discrimination and intimidating behavior by the help of a racist detective and team.
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. Main aggressors – Colleagues, employer, client, detective and their community altogether are the main aggressors.
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. I will upload the remainder of the files in the another post.“
The 32-year-old had moved to the US in 2016 to pursue a Master’s degree in Computer Science and later worked for Google through IT consultancy EPAM Systems before losing his job.
Nizamuddin’s family described him as a quiet and religious person who frequently complained about racial discrimination and mistreatment at work.
Relatives in India said they were informed of Nizamuddin’s death 15 days after the shooting through friends, not US authorities.
Nizamuddin’s father, Mohammed Hasnuddin, has appealed to External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar to help bring his son’s body back to Mahabubnagar.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office and the Santa Clara Police Department have launched a joint investigation into the officer-involved shooting.
Support our Journalism
No-nonsense journalism. No paywalls. Whether you’re in Australia, the UK, Canada, the USA, or India, you can support The Australia Today by taking a paid subscription via Patreon or donating via PayPal — and help keep honest, fearless journalism alive.
