Tulum (Mexicao): A California-based Indian-origin woman, who travelled to Mexico to celebrate her birthday, was killed in a shootout between two drug-peddling gangs at a restaurant in Mexico’s Tulum, according to media reports. The woman Anjali Ryot lived in San Jose, California, US. She was killed along with a German tourist, Jennifer Henzold, in the crossfire, Californianewstimes.com reported.
Anjali, a travel blogger, had arrived in Tulum before her birthday on October 22. Her Instagram account describes her as a travel blogger from Himachal Pradesh, India, living in San Jose. Anjali had been working as a senior site reliability engineer with LinkedIn since July. She was previously employed by Yahoo.
Anjali and four other tourists were dining on the terrace of La Malquerida restaurant when four men armed with assault rifles opened fire at an adjoining table on the premises. Stray bullets hit the tourists. Anjali and Jennifer were killed, while the other three from Germany and the Netherlands were wounded. Authorities said that the shootout was a confrontation between rival gangs of drug peddlers. Anjali and her friends were collateral victims.
The two groups operate drug sales in the area, the Quintana Roo state prosecutor's office said in a statement. Several drug cartels operate in the Mexican state, which is known for a lucrative retail drug market and as a hot spot for drug shipments.
Family seeks Tulum mayor's help
Anjali’s family in Himachal Pradesh was shattered when they were informed about her death. Her brother Ashish urged the mayor of Tulum to speed up the procedure to bring back her body.
She had spent three-four months with her family in Solan last year when the pandemic set in, her father KD Ryot said.
Anjali and her husband Utkarsh Shrivastava had gone to Mexico to celebrate her 30th birthday on October 22 from San Jose, her father said. Utkarsh informed Ashish, who currently lives in Chicago, about the incident. Ashish called his father on October 21 to inform him about the tragedy.
K D Ryot, who was a director in Himachal Pradesh's animal husbandry department, and his wife Nirmala recalled that she had spent three-four months with them in Solan last year after the coronavirus outbreak. Anjali had come to Mumbai from California to do a diploma related to the film industry, he said. She visited them immediately after completing her course as a lockdown had been imposed.
She left for California after spending three to four months with the family in Solan, he added. Efforts are being made to bring her body to Solan for the last rites, he said.
