Khammam youth dies in accidental shooting in US

HYDERABAD: A student from Khammam was killed in Montgomery, Alabama, apparently in an accidental shooting on Sunday night (US time) at a petrol station, where he worked part-time.
Akhil Sai Mahankali (25), who hailed from Madhira, had gone to the US over a year ago and was pursuing MS from Auburn University. His family came to know of the death on Tuesday morning. The accused, Ravi Teja Goli (23), who was on security duty, has been booked for manslaughter and detained.
Police are yet to provide information on the circumstances leading to the incident, but the family has reportedly been informed by persons known to them in the US that the weapon in Ravi's hand went off accidentally and hit Akhil in the head. Police who arrived at the scene took Akhil to a hospital, where he later died.
Cops took Ravi into custody on the spot, but have not released any details about him. He has been kept at a detention centre and his bail has been set at $30,000. Akhil's cousin Sree Lekha Kolluru and friend Ram Sai Induri said he was a bright student.
"His father Uma Shankar, along with his family, had moved to Hyderabad where he ran a grocery store, which was shut down due to Covid. His mother Madhavi is a housewife. He has a younger brother.
His father had taken a huge loan to send him to the US," Sree Lekha said. A GoFundMe page has been started by Akhil's friends in the US to pool in contributions to send his body back to India and assist the family in repaying their debts. A target of $1,50,00 has been set and so far $90,000 has been received.