Telangana Engineer Shot Dead in US
By Asmita - Sep 19, 2025
Mohammed Nizamuddin, a 30-year-old engineer from India, was shot dead by police in Santa Clara, California, following a violent altercation with his roommate. Reports suggest he had faced workplace harassment and unjust termination before the incident. His family in Mahabubnagar, India, was informed about his death two weeks later, prompting calls for repatriation of his body and a thorough investigation into the shooting. The incident has raised concerns within the Indian community in the US.
Water fountain in a park in Santa Clara, California via Wikimedia commons
In ,[object Object],, ,[object Object],, ,[object Object],, a 30-year-old engineer from ,[object Object],, Telangana, was shot dead by police earlier this month. The incident occurred on September 3, after a quarrel with his roommate reportedly escalated into violence involving knives. Police stated they responded to a 911 call reporting that a person had stabbed a roommate inside the residence. Upon arrival, officers encountered Nizamuddin, allegedly armed with a knife, and in the ensuing confrontation, they opened fire in what they described as self-defense.
Nizamuddin had moved to the US in 2016 to pursue higher education at ,[object Object],, and subsequently worked as a software engineer in ,Santa Clara,, ,California,. Friends and family revealed that he faced harassment at his workplace, and some claimed that he had been unjustly terminated from his job about six months prior to the incident. Reports also mention that days before his death, he had voiced grievances about racial discrimination, wage fraud, and even poisoning by his roommates in a social media post. A friend conveyed to the family that tensions with one particular roommate were escalating, as Nizamuddin was reportedly being targeted and asked to vacate his accommodation.
The family in ,Mahabubnagar, received the tragic news only about two weeks after the incident, adding to their grief and distress. His father, Mohammed Hasnuddin, a retired teacher, said he had tried calling his son multiple times without success, before finally learning of his death from a friend in ,Santa Clara,. The delay in formal communication from authorities left the family in shock and desperate for information about what truly transpired on the day of the shooting.
In the aftermath, the family reached out to India’s Ministry of External Affairs and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, seeking urgent assistance to repatriate Nizamuddin’s body for funeral rites in India. Social worker Amjed Ullah Khan also wrote to the government, demanding a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the police shooting. The incident has sparked concern and fear among the Indian community in the US, as relatives and supporters call for justice and greater clarity on the sequence of events leading to Nizamuddin’s death.
