Race motive won’t leave Sydney Indian’s murder
Tuesday, 10/03/2015
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SYDNEY/NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: Australian police said Monday there was nothing to suggest that the murder of Indian IT consultant Prabha Arun Kumar in a Sydney suburb last week was racially motivated, but her family in Bengaluru suspects it was a hate crime.
Relatives said Kumar, 41, was speaking to her husband on the phone and he heard her scream for help when she was stabbed while taking a shortcut through Parramatta Park in the city’s west on Saturday night.
“Could this be a random attack? Well, yes it could. It could be a whole range of scenarios... and we are considering all of them,” New South Wales (NSW) homicide squad commander detective superintendent Michael Willing said.
NSW Premier Mike Baird assured India that police were probing the case with utmost seriousness while a special detective squad was made to pursue the investigations.
Describing the attack as a “sad event,” ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said Baird gave the assurance during a telephonic conversation with Sanjay Sudhir, India’s Consul General in Sydney.
“I have spoken to a lot of people, a lot of agencies and there is no evidence which I have seen that indicates any racial undertone to this attack,” Sudhir said.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who spoke to the victim’s family, tweeted that she was pained to know about the murder and was in constant touch with India’s consulate in Sydney, which was providing all help.
“After she was born my transport business took off. Within a few years of her birth, I went from owning one truck to owning 14,” said the victim’s 72-yearold father in Mangaluru. “All I want is for her remains to reach us as soon as possible.”
Akbaruddin told reporters that Kumar’s husband, who had reached Australia with his nine-year-old daughter, met NSW police along with Sudhir and a representative of the victim’s employers.
The MEA spokesperson refused to comment on whether the incident could be a hate crime.
“One should not impute motive. Police are probing the matter. Let us wait for the outcome,” he said.
