Indian-Origin Man Dies After Sustaining Injuries During Brawl Outside Restaurant In Washington

An Indian-origin man died earlier this week due to injuries he sustained during a brawl outside a restaurant in the US capital of Washington, American news outlets reported. The deceased has been identified as 41-year-old US citizen Vivek Taneja, who was a resident of the US state of Virginia. According to local authorities, Taneja was found by the police in an unconscious state, Washington Post reported.

The suspect is still at large. Taneja was reportedly found with life-threatening injuries. As per reports, he succumbed to his injuries five days after the incident. The victim and the suspect were at two sister Japanese restaurants on February 2, the police said in its report. Taneja "was knocked to the ground by the suspect and hit his head on the pavement", the Washington Post reported citing the police report.

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The police report suggests that the Indian-American man left the restaurants around 2 am. He purportedly got into a fight with the suspect on a nearby street, the police report said while holding back information regarding the nature of the dispute. Taneja lost consciousness on being attacked. He was rushed to a hospital by the police officers who found him.

He died on Wednesday while undergoing treatment, police informed. The suspect was captured in CCTV footage. His identity is yet to be ascertained. A reward of USD 25,000 has been declared by the police for information regarding the suspect that results in his arrest and conviction. The incident comes amidst the recent spike in attacks on Indians and Indian-origin individuals in the US.

Earlier this week, Indian student Syed Mazahir Ali was attacked by a group of robbers in the US city of Chicago. Videos on social media that surfaced showed Ali bleeding heavily as he described the horrific incident. Meanwhile, another video circulating on social media, which appears to be CCTV footage of the incident, shows Ali being chased by three attackers on the streets.

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Last week, an Indian student named Shreyas Reddy was found dead in Cincinnati, Ohio. The cause of his death, however, remains unknown as of now. According to reports, Reddy was a student at the Linder School of Business. Notably, Reddy's case was the third death of an Indian student within the preceding week.

On January 30, Neel Acharya, a student at Purdue University, was found dead after being missing for days, according to the Tippecanoe County Coroner. Similarly, on January 29, another Indian student, identified as Vivek Saini, was brutally killed with repeated blows from a hammer by a homeless man inside a store in Lithonia, Georgia, US. A video of the incident went viral on social media, but the date of the incident can't be confirmed.

(With inputs from ANI)