The 30-year-old Indian techie, who was shot by the police in California earlier this month, was reportedly harassed and racially discriminated against by his former employer, colleagues and roommates to an extent that his “food was poisoned”.
In a LinkedIn post days before his death, Mohammed Nizamuddin, from Mahabubnagar in Telangana, claimed to be a “victim of racial hatred” and had called for an end to “American mentality”.
He said he was paid unfairly and “wrongfully terminated” from his job, and the situation turned worse when he was forced to vacate his accommodation.
Nizamuddin was shot by the California police after he allegedly stabbed his roommate at his accommodation in Santa Clara with a knife on September 3, officials said. He was also found pinning down his roommate, who had sustained several injuries. His family, however, alleged racial discrimination and demanded a thorough probe into the circumstances leading to his death.
In the LinkedIn post, Nizamuddin said: “I have been a victim of racial hatred, racial discrimination, racial harassment, torture, wage-fraud, wrongful termination and obstruction of Justice. Today I decided to raise my voice against all odds. Enough is enough, white supremacy/racist white American mentality has to end. Oppression of corporate tyrants must end and everyone involved in it must be punished severely.”
He said that while he worked at Google via EPAM Systems, he faced a lot of hostility and racial discrimination. “In addition to that the company committed a salary fraud. I was not paid fairly, not in accordance to DOL (Department of Labour) wage-levels. They altogether wrongfully terminated my employment,” he said.
EPAM Systems is an American company that provides software engineering services and has partnered with Google Cloud, according to information available on its website. There was no immediate comment from the company on the allegations.
Nizamuddin said after he lost his job, the harassment continued through a “racist detective and team”.
“Lately, situation has deteriorated and become worse. My food was poisoned and now I am being evicted out of my current residence for fighting against unjust,” he said.
He identified the “main aggressors” as his “colleagues, employer, client, detective and their community altogether are the main aggressors”. “They are the trouble makers and oppressors behind the current chaos, not me. It is happening with me today, and it can happen with anyone tomorrow. So I ask the world to do the needful in demanding justice against the oppression and wrong-doings of people involved. I totally understand I am no saint, but they need to understand they are no God,” he said.
In a statement, Santa Clara police said the probe into the circumstances leading to Nizamuddin’s death is “active and an open investigation”.
Nizamuddin had pursued a Masters in Computer Science at a Florida college and was working at a tech firm in Santa Clara in California. He was a quiet and religious person, and had even publicly raised complaints of racial harassment, wage fraud and wrongful termination from the job, his family said.
They have also sought the assistance of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to transport his body, which is held at a hospital in Santa Clara for formalities.