New Delhi: In a shocking incident, an Indian technology CEO has killed his wife and son before shooting himself dead, said the US law enforcement authorities. The incident took place last week in Newcastle area of Washington on April 24.
The deceased have been identified as 57-year-old Harshavardhana Kikkeri, his wife Shwetha Panyam (44) and their minor son, who was 14 year-old.
Meanwhile, the second son of the Indian tech entrepreneur has survived the shooting as he was not available at home during the incident, said a report in NDTV.
The report citing US media said that police officers were seen comforting the child and taking him out of the home. The US investigators King County Sheriff’s Office have not released the identities of the children.
According to police, the provocation for the extreme incident is not yet known. Cops say they are probing the matter. As per the US media report, the neighbours said the family was very reserve but friendly.
The accused deceased Harshvardhan Kikkeri was a native of Mandya district in Karmataka. He founded and presided over the CEO of HoloWorld robotics, which has its headquarters in Mysuru. Kikkeri’s wife was the co-founder in the company.
The couple founded the HoloWorld company while they returned to India in 2017. However, the company was shut in 2022 due to COVID-19 pandemic. Later, the couple returned to US. The report also said that Kikkeri had also met PM Narendra Modi at the peak of company’s success and pitched the idea of using robots for border security. He also worked for Microsoft company in US.
