53-year-old US Navy Veteran Adam Purinton who killed Indian techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla in Kansas last year has been awarded three consecutive life sentences on federal hate crime charges, PTI has reported.

The incident took place at a bar in Olathe, Kansas on 22 February 2017, when Purinton opened fire on two Indian nationals namely Srinivas Kuchibhotla and his colleague Alok Madasani.

The accused had earlier hurled racial slurs at the Indians and had even demanded that they leave the country. Unfortunately, the 32-year-old Kuchibhotla was fatally wounded but Madasani and a local who tried to save them escaped with injuries.

Reports have claimed that the accused supposedly mistook the victims to be Iranians and had earlier called the deceased a terrorist.

In May 2018, Purinton was sentenced to life imprisonment by Johnson County District Court, which was compounded with other sentences to make it a 78-year long imprisonment.

Now Purinton has also received three life sentences from a Federal court which will run consecutively to the penalties already awarded to him.

As reported, the accused during his federal guilty-plea hearing admitted that he targeted Kuchibhotla and Madasani owing to their race, colours and national origin.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a statement that the defendant committed a premeditated murder because of the aforementioned reasons, thereby tragically cutting short a promising young life.