IndiaPost.com - Tenant shoots dead realtor Joe Gupta

India Post News Service

FREMONT: The Gupta family held a press conference on May 7 in The Golden Peacock Banquet Fremont to clarify the circumstances of the death of Kulbhushan Gupta, and clear their grievances against San Francisco Chronicle, who were first to publish about Gupta’s murder with a highly fabled story causing immense grief and agony to the already grieving family and friends.

As quoted by SF Chronicle in their May 3 publication, ‘Frank Spillman, 94, complained for years how his landlord was harassing him,..’ also ‘Spillman worried constantly that Gupta, 64, planned to evict him and even voiced suspicions that Gupta had poisoned his beloved chickens …’ Any attempt to clarify the causes and reason, and to know the relationship between Joe Gupta, as he was popularly known in Oakland, with his many tenants was not done by their reporter. The concocted story which they ran terribly upset the Gupta family who lost a loving husband, caring father, and a dedicated community server. T

he press conference held by Mrs Rupa Gupta, along with her sons and daughter, Rohan and Anu Gupta, Rohit and Anisha Gupta was a great effort in this grieving time, trying best to hold back their tears while talking to the media and press with the correct version and to let everyone know about Joe’s life, his contribution and commitment towards the less fortunate in Oakland.

Fremont officials, Anu Natrajan, Yogi Chugh, Steve Cho lashed out at the media for an unfair portrayal of Gupta, saying that the people and society who knew him for more than 25 years define what Joe Gupta is, and not the media. Kulbhushan Gupta invested in Oakland’s most undeserved neighborhoods and made friends with all his tenants almost like a family, including 94-year-old Frank Spillman.

After Frank shot dead Gupta on May 31 during a maintenance visit, the victim’s family is numbed and fails to understand how the men’s 25-year friendship could end that way. For sure death’s footsteps were not heard. "It all seems like yesterday that he was here and everything was fine, we can’t bring him back but I can tell you that Spillman was a family friend for a very long time" said Kulbhushan’s son Rohan Gupta.

The victim’s younger son, Rohit recounted the times when Spillman paid late rental and this did not even bother his dad as he believed moneymaking should not be an end in itself, empathy is more important. Former state Assembleyman John Dutra of Fremont said that "Joe was a good, decent family man with who was loved and respected, a very compassionate person. It was a senseless tragedy, very regrettable."

Countless number of Gupta’s friends were unanimous in their view that how could media portray killing of Gupta as the perpetrator of crime and Spillman as the victim. Jeevan Zutshi questioned why guns are given to students and old people.

Giving them access to arms can be disastrous. Some serious thinking and implementation has to be done by the relevant authorities to prevent such tragedies where lives are snatched at the whim and fancy of a person’s desire. India Post offers their heartfelt sympathy and condolence to Kulbhushan Gupta’s family and his friends, we pray to God may his soul rest in peace.