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Man attacks woman in gurdwara, held; Indian-American killed in hit-and-run

Published on 29 March, 2017
Man attacks woman in  gurdwara, held; Indian-American killed in hit-and-run

Washington, March 29 (IANS) A 37-year-old man was arrested after he attacked a woman inside a gurdwara in the US state of Oregon.

According to the police, Timothy Walter Schmidt was intoxicated and was walking by the Sikh temple in Oregon's Gresham city on Sunday night. He asked to use a restroom at the temple and was allowed inside, reported Fox 12 Oregon.

When Schmidt came out of the bathroom, he saw a 26-year-old female in the gurdwara and attacked her.

According to Detective Adam Baker, a temple member heard the commotion and pulled Schmidt off of the woman and held him down until the police arrived.

Schmidt was lodged into the Multnomah county jail and charged with assault, menacing, coercion, attempted rape, sex abuse and unlawful use of a weapon, said the report.

The accused had a criminal history, including three DUII convictions, said police officials.

It is not clear if religion or ethnicity played a role in the attack, but that is something the police were looking into, according to the report.


Indian-American killed in hit-and-run 


Washington, March 29 (IANS) An Indian American man was killed and his wife was critically injured in a hit-and-run accident in the US state of Indiana.

Anshul Sharma, 30, died on the spot while his wife Samira Bharadwaj, 28, was injured critically in the accident on Sunday evening. Both pedestrians were from Columbus city of Indiana, said the police.

A 36-year-old man, Michael Demaio, was arrested by the police. He was driving a red Chrysler minivan and hit the couple from behind near Four Seasons Retirement Centre in Columbus, reported the Republic newspaper on Tuesday. 

The accused later fled the scene.

Sharma was pronounced dead at the scene by a Bartholomew County Coroner while Bharadwaj was later transported to a hospital in Indianapolis. 

Demaio "failed several field sobriety exercises", the police said. The minivan was found with substantial damage to its hood and a cracked windshield.

The accused, who is in now in a county jail, faces a number of preliminary charges, including failure to stop after an accident resulting in death, failure to stop after an accident resulting in injury, operating while intoxicated resulting in death and operating while intoxicated resulting in injury, said the report.

Meanwhile, family and friends of Sharma continued their efforts to take his body back to India and to support his wife, who was in a critical condition.

There were several messages on Twitter on Tuesday seeking help for the family.

A spokeswoman of Cummins, a diesel engine manufacturer in Columbus, where Sharma worked as an engineer, said the company was in constant communication with the Sharma family and providing support in efforts to return his body to India.

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