PM Modi condoles death of veteran Indian-American journalist Brahm Kanchibotla who died of COVID-19

Washington: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday condoled the demise of veteran Indian-American journalist Brahm Kanchibotla, saying he will be remembered for his fine work.

"Deeply anguished by the passing away of Indian-American journalist Mr. Brahm Kanchibotla. He will be remembered for his fine work and efforts to bring India and USA closer," the Prime Minister tweeted.

"Condolences to his family and friends. Om Shanti," he said.

Deeply anguished by the passing away of Indian-American journalist Mr. Brahm Kanchibotla. He will be remembered for his fine work and efforts to bring India and USA closer. Condolences to his family and friends. Om Shanti. https://t.co/LXF8TOl4PZ

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 8, 2020

The Indian-American community also mourned the death of veteran journalist Brahm Kanchibotla, who died of coronavirus in the US.

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Kanchibotla, 66, was admitted to a hospital on Long Island in New York on March 28, some five days after he showed symptoms of the novel coronavirus. He died on April 6.

For several years, Kanchibotla was the New York and UN correspondent of the United News of India. In recent years, he was writing for two ethnic Indian American publications: The Indian Panorama and South Asia Times.

"Very sad to learn about the passing away of veteran Indian-American journalist Brahm Kanchibotla due to COVID-19. Our heartfelt condolences to his family. He will be deeply missed by his friends and admirers in the US and India, India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, tweeted.'

Very sad to learn about the passing away of veteran Indian-American journalist Brahm Kanchibotla due to COVID-19. Our heartfelt condolences to his family. He will be deeply missed by his friends and admirers in the US and India.

— Taranjit Singh Sandhu (@SandhuTaranjitS) April 7, 2020

"I never ever dreamed of losing my friend and fellow journalist Brahm Kanchibhotla the way he has been snatched from us," said Indrajit S Saluja, editor of The Indian Panorama.

Saluja admired Kanchibotla for his professionalism. "I have reason to believe that despite of my being a bohemian he enjoyed being with me as much as I did," Saluja said.

Indian American photojournalist Mohammed Jaffer said Kanchibotla's death was shocking for him. "I call him Braham sab as he happens to be from my city Hyderabad and we share common things always," Jaffer said.

"We lost a South Asian Times colleague, said Parveen Chopra, from The South Asia Times.

Kanchibotla is survived by his wife Anjana, son Sudama and daughter Siujana.

Meanwhile, scores of Indian-Americans have tested positive with the novel coronavirus in the US and several of them, including a journalist of a news agency, have died, according to multiple news reports from community organisations and diaspora leaders from across the country.

While there is no official or unofficial count of Indian-Americans infected with the coronavirus in the country, information available on various private social media groups indicate that a significant number of them are in New York and New Jersey.

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The two States, which have the highest concentration of Indian-Americans in the US, are also the worst hit by the coronavirus.

According to estimates by the Johns Hopkins University, there are over 1.34 million confirmed coronavirus cases across the world and over 75,000 people have died of it.

The US has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world at 364,723, followed by Spain (136,675), Italy (132,547), Germany (102,453). More than 10,000 people have died in the US because of COVID-19.

(PTI)