(a) whether the Government is aware of the recent incident of murder of an Indian woman, IT professional in Sydney, Australia and if so, the facts and details thereof;
(b) whether the Union government has taken up the matter with the Australian authorities and if so, the details along with the findings thereof; and
(c) the steps taken by the Government to provide assistance to the family of the deceased person?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS [GEN. (DR) V. K. SINGH (RETD)]
(a) Smt. Prabha Arun Kumar, an Indian IT professional was stabbed to death in Sydney on 7 March, 2015 by an unidentified person.
(b) & (c) The Government of India had taken up the matter with the authorities in New South Wales immediately after the incident. The External Affairs Minister spoke to Australian Foreign Minister on the issue. The mortal remains were transported from Australia to Bangalore on 14 March and subsequently to her home town Mangalore.
The Consulate General of India in Sydney had been in contact with the husband of Ms. Kumar, Mr. Arun Kumar of Bangalore, her brother Mr. Sankar Shetty and the employer, Mr. Anoop George, CEO of Mindtree. All necessary facilitation and assistance was provided to her husband to complete formalities for the repatriation of the mortal remains to India. The Consulate facilitated the handing over of mortal remains, by the Australian authorities, to the family on 11 March, 2015 and its embalming and other processes by 12 March, 2015. The Consulate prepared necessary documentation for the Indian authorities and also coordinated with local authorities to expedite the formalities to obtain the Death Certificate, Embalmer`s Certificate and a Non- communicable Disease Certificate, which are required for repatriation. Formalities for claiming compensation were also facilitated.
The Premier of New South Wales, has reassured the Indian community that every effort was being made to investigate the fatal attack. The investigation is under progress.