Warangal techie dies in New York, family seeks help

Warangal: Sridhar Panuganti's relatives, an employee of Tech Mahindra (Americas) Inc., who died in his sleep in Buffalo, New York on November 27, are seeking assistance from the Indian authorities to get his body back.

Sridhar's wife Jhansi Rani Aluvala said in an appeal posted on the crowd-funding platform gofundme.com that Sridhar, a resident of Thorrur, Warangal Rural, died on November 27 in his sleep, leaving her and their 5-year-old son alone.

"We were hit by a pandemic in India and my husband was alone in US when the disaster occurred. It is beyond comprehension what has happened and we are all in shock. This has had a huge effect on us because my husband was our family's only breadwinner," she said, calling for support and adding that arrangements for repatriation services and funeral plans were still being made.

Jhansi posted on Twitter in a series of tweets, tagging various Indian ministers, government officials and embassies, saying that Sridhar's body was now held at the Buffalo Health Office of the Erie County Department. Relatives, who joined Jhansi tweeting for assistance, said that because inquiries into the cause of death were still on and could take time, the authorities had yet to release the body.

In a letter to the Indian Embassy in New York, Warangal MP Pasunuri Dayakar also asked for support in moving the body to India for the final rites.

The Consulate General of India in New York replied in reaction to a tweet from Sridhar's niece, Sreelatha Panuganti, that the CGI was doing its best.

Here is the link to the request posted on gofundme.com by Jhansi:

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