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Washington mourns murdered Indians

Arthur J Pais in Washington

A dozen ministers from Washington's black churches were joined by their congregations at a vigil held at the Dunkin' Donuts shop in the nearby Camp Springs this weekend, where two immigrants -- Mukesh Patel, 35 and Kanu Patel, 28 -- were gunned down in execution style during an armed robbery, and a third one was left behind for dead on October 15.

"We needed to tell the Indian community that we cared about them," said one clergyman. The three people charged with the murders are blacks; one of them is a teenager.

The Donuts shop, which has been closed since the murders, was amidst many closed or abandoned shops in an area which some 25 years ago used to have pricey shops -- and gradually declined into one of the worst parts of the greater Washington area.

The Indian community has also donated over $40,000 and the friends of the two men are trying to raise at least $100,000 to give to their families in Gujarat.

"It has really hurt me so much, I haven't recovered from the shock," said storeowner Jay Patel, a distant cousin of Kanu Patel's, in an interview.

"The breadwinners for two families are gone." Patel is leading the effort to raise $100,000. Dunkin Donuts has contributed about $20,000; there have been loud murmurs in the community that it could have given much more.

On Friday, church ministers, choir members and police officials held a candlelight vigil in the parking lot of the shop, and on Sunday, nearly 180 Indians joined a prayer meeting.

"As tragic as this was for the victims and the Indian community itself, it also was a loss for the community of Prince George's County that grieved with them," said Prince George's Police Chief John S Farrell, who along with state attorney Jack B Johnson and several elected officials attended the Friday vigil, The Washington Post said.

The group included the widow of U.S. Capitol Police officer Jacob J Chestnut, who along with another officer was gunned down in the Capitol in July.

Mukesh Patel moved to Maryland six months ago, leaving behind a wife and two children, ages 6 and 3. Kanu Patel came to America just a few months ago, leaving a wife. Both men lived in the village of Bhadole in Gujarat. They had worked at the Dunkin Donut shop for less than a month.

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