A year on, no one knows who killed Prabha Arun Kumar

Detectives in Sydney have spoken to more than 2,000 people, taken almost 250 statements.
They have considered the possibility that someone in India was involved in, or helped organise, Prabha Arun Kumar's murder.

There has been no headway in the murder of techie Prabha Arun Kumar, 41, who was stabbed to death while she was walking home from work in a suburb in Sydney, Australia, on March, 7, 2015.

The ongoing investigation has been broadened and the Australian police tell Rediff.com that they will be pursuing the case in India too.

Georgina Wells, a spokesperson for the New South Wales police, told A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com that the New South Wales police remains committed to finding the person or people responsible for Prabha's death.

Strike Force Marcoala, the homicide squad investigating Prabha's death, continues to conduct extensive inquiries.

To date, detectives have spoken to more than 2,000 people, taken almost 250 statements, and continue to liaise with Prabha's friends and family in Australia and India.

Detectives have worked hard to build a profile of Prabha to find out more about her life, speaking extensively to members of her family when they came to Sydney in November for a memorial service.

The police do not believe Prabha knew her killer and remain certain that robbery or sexual assault were not motives for her death.

Detectives have considered the possibility that someone in India was involved in, or helped organise, the murder.

They are also considering the possibility the offender is still in Australia, as well as the possibility the offender has left the country.

Strike Force Marcoala detectives have urged any person with information about Prabha's death to come forward and remind them they can provide that information anonymously if they wish.

Prabha left behind her husband Arun Kumar and their eleven-year-old daughter Meghnaa. A year later her younger brother Shivprasad Shetty and her husband G Arun Kumar share their memories.

Shivprasad Shetty, brother

She was a very protective elder sister. She fulfilled her responsibilities towards us. She took care of us. She guided us. She was an ideal for us as we grew up.

She did her primary schooling in our village, Amtoor, near Mangalore. She completed her schooling in St Agnes in Mangalore. After that she did her engineering from KVG College in Sullia in south Karnataka. Then she moved to Bengaluru. She got her first job with Linc software.

This company was later acquired by Mindtree. All her life she worked for one company. She was very hard working. She fell in love with Arun Kumar and married him with the approval of both sets of parents.

She was very calm, never did any harm to anybody. If she was not comfortable with anybody she would move away. She never had any enmity towards anybody. She was hard working, loyal and 100 per cent committed to her company. She would work on weekends too.

She knew she would have a tough time without her daughter in Australia. She went there so that she could earn more money for her family. She was the ideal wife, sister and mother.

G Arun Kumar, husband

I met Prabha in 1996 in Bengaluru. We became friends. In 2000 we decided to get married. Initially both our families did not agree, but finally they consented.

After getting married, she began working as a software engineer.

She was a very nice person. She was very fond of family life. She was calm, soft and a very lovable person. We were living in a separate home a short distance from my parents. We used to help each other. Sometimes she used to cook and sometimes I used to cook.

In the morning I used to drop her to office and then go to my office. In the evening I used to pick her up. It was a busy life. In 2004 we had Meghnaa.

We used to sleep late on weekends as week days were so busy and tiring. When my daughter was three-months-old Prabha had a bike accident and was badly injured.

It was a very bad time for us. She was in hospital for two months. We fought the bad times together. I took leave to take care of my baby and my wife. She was at home for a year after the accident. 2004 was a tough time for us.

After a year, Prabha returned to work. It was her second life. I looked after my daughter and the home when she went to work. I was into marketing. I started a consultancy till Meghnaa became a little older. Once she went to school, I started a business.

We were living our lives for our daughter. Our life revolved around her. We could not ask others to help us look after our daughter all the time. So we did it ourselves. My parents and sisters were helpful as they were staying nearby.

In 2012 her company asked her to go to Australia for six months. She was a senior member of the company. We were happy. She was happy to go there. Initially they said it was for six months and they extended it by a few months.

As it was for a short time, we could not go there as a family. My daughter's schooling would have been affected. Education is very important for us.

Prabha wanted our daughter to be brought up in an Indian culture. Sometimes we thought of going to settle in the United States. We had lots of dreams.

Last year, we had planned a holiday to Mauritius. My daughter still asks, 'When are we going to Mauritius?'

As told to A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com