Gujarat: Kheda man shot dead by policeman in Uganda

AHMEDABAD: On Thursday afternoon, a police constable in Kisoro town in Uganda allegedly stormed into a hardware store, along with a few unidentified civilians, and shot dead 24-year-old Kunjaj Patel, who is from Sandheli village in Thasra taluka of Kheda district.
Kunjaj had left for Uganda four years ago to help at the hardware store run by his uncle, Raju Patel, on Kisoro Municipality Road. He was attending to a customer when the policeman stormed into the store and allegedly shot Kunjaj in the chest. He was taken to St Francis Hospital at Mutolere in Kisoro in a critical condition. At 8pm, doctors pronounced him dead, due to excessive bleeding, according to reports.
The policeman has been arrested, the reports say. Raju had owned the store for 30 years. Kunjaj's wife, Preksha, who is from the nearby Vanoda village, had accompanied him to Uganda four years ago. "Kunjaj's parents are inconsolable as they could not attend their son's last rites. Raju had managed the cremation ceremony in Uganda, which was held on Saturday. Why the men killed Kunjaj is not known yet," Preksha's uncle, Vinal Patel, told TOI.
A few of Kunjaj's relatives in Kheda said the alleged assailant was arrested within hours of the crime. The constable is believed to be 21 years old and a member of the Field Force Unit (FFU) at Kisoro. The accused had been serving in the police for four years.
Last year, Kunjaj's younger brother emigrated to Canada. Both brothers emigrated for better lives. "Kunjaj's parents are farmers and grow pulses and vegetables," Vinal said. TOI tried to contact Raju, Kunjaj's uncle but could not reach him.