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Daughter of slain store clerk to attend his funeral

E-mail|Link December 31, 2009 05:16 PM

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff

After initially denying the 9-year-old daughter of a slain convenience store clerk a visa to attend his funeral, the US Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal, issued the girl a visa today, according to a family friend.

Surendra Dangol

"The embassy called the girl's mother, and told her that they would issue the visa," said Uttam Shrestha, a family friend. Surendra Dangol's wife, daughter, and brother are scheduled to board a plane at 11:25 p.m. local time and arrive in Boston at 10:25 p.m. EST Friday, Shrestha said.

Dangol was working the counter of a Tedeschi Food Shop on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain the day after Christmas when he was shot to death.

Dangol had been hoping to be reunited with his wife, Kalpana, and daughter, Sunila. He had filed Immigration papers so they could live with him, relatives said.

The family had been outraged by the US officials' earlier decision to issue only two visas, one for the wife and one for the brother. A state Department spokesman told the Globe Wednesday that federal agencies are prohibited from commenting on visa applications.

Tedeschi Food Shops on Wednesday offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the killer's arrest.

A tall man wearing a long wig and dressed in bulky, dark clothes came into the store, pointed a gun at Dangol, and ordered him to hand over the money in the register. Dangol cooperated, but the man shot him before fleeing in a white sedan, possibly a Plymouth Acclaim. Surveillance video released by Boston Police Tuesday indicated the vehicle was driven by another person, the Globe reported today.