A US Navy veteran has been sentenced to life imprisonment for killing Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla in a racially motivated hate crime at a bar in Kansas City last year. A federal judge in Kansas yesterday sentenced Adam Purinton to nearly 78 years in prison.

Media report said Purinton would not be eligible for parole until after he turns 100. In March this year, Purinton, 52, had pleaded guilty to the charges of murdering Kuchibhotla, who hailed from Hyderabad. Purinton was charged with first-degree murder of 32-year-old Kuchibhotla and two counts of attempted first-degree murder in the shootings of his friend, Alok Madasani, and a bystander, in February 2017. The US Attorney's Office in Kansas filed hate crime charges against Purinton last June.

Kuchibhotla is survived by his wife Sunayana Dumala. In a statement, Dumala said today's sentencing in the murder of her husband sends a strong message that hate is never acceptable.