“Sai was a cricket buff with an extremely friendly nature. One of his friends in the US, who called us with the news, said that Sai, who was working as a part-time cashier at a store, had stayed back even though his shift had ended to help a colleague. It is typical of Sai to help. We grew up together and it is difficult to come to terms with his loss,” his cousin Bandi Manoj told The Indian Express.

Sai hails from a family with many relatives in the US, including his sister, who is doing her MS in Chicago. “She is completely heartbroken and in a state of shock. They were supposed to meet later in the evening after his shift,” Manoj said.

Koteshwar Rao runs a rice and groceries shop in Raparthi Nagar in Khammam town, where the family, originally from Ramannapet village, lives. “Sai did his Intermediate and BBA from Malla Reddy Group of Educational Institutions, Hyderabad. He studied till SSC at Khammam. Just before he left for the US on June 17, we celebrated his birthday on May 23 with his father and mother Vani,” Manoj said.

Sai was sharing a room with a relative in Milwaukee, and had enrolled for an MBA course at Concordia University.

He took up a part-time job as a cashier at a store attached to a gas station at West Burleigh Street, Milwaukee. “It was his dream to follow his sister to the US for higher studies. Sai used to make video calls almost every day to speak to his mother, who told him how much she misses him,” Koteshwar Rao said.

His friends told the family that robbers went into the store and ordered Sai to hand over the cash, which he did without resisting. “He did as he was told but they still shot him. They should face the strictest punishment,” Rao said.

Khammam MP R Raghuram Reddy is coordinating with the Centre, while the Telugu Association of North America is making efforts to repatriate the body.

The Consulate General of India in Chicago has demanded “immediate action against the culprits”. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said he is “deeply grieved” at the news.