32-yr-old Indian techie, 30-yr-old pregnant wife found dead in US; child seen crying on balcony

News Network
April 9, 2021

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New Jersey, Apr 9: An Indian couple was found dead at their home in the US after neighbours saw their four-year-old daughter crying alone in the balcony of their house, family sources said on Friday.

Some US media outlets said the couple died of an apparent stabbing in their North Arlington apartment.

The husband apparently stabbed and sliced his wife in the abdomen as she unsuccessfully tried to fight him off in their living room, a US media report said.

The bodies of Balaji Bharat Rudrawar (32) and his wife Arati Balaji Rudrawar (30) were found at their 21 Garden Terrace apartment in the Riverview Gardens complex of North Arlington borough in New Jersey which has just over 15,000 residents.

"The bodies were found on Wednesday after neighbours saw my granddaughter crying in the balcony and informed the local police who then entered the house," Balaji's father Bharat Rudrawar told media.

Some local US newspapers quoted a press release from the county prosecutor's office which said officers forced their way inside the apartment and found the couple dead.

"Investigators were waiting for the medical examiner to determine the cause and circumstances of the death, but confirmed both victims had been stabbed," the report said.

"The local police there informed me of the tragedy on Thursday. There is no clarity yet on the cause of the death. The US police said they will share findings of the autopsy report," Rudrawar said.

"My daughter-in-law was seven months pregnant," he said. "We had been to their house and were planning another trip to the US to be with them again," he said.

"I am not aware of any possible motive. They were a happy family and had lovely neighbours," he said when asked if he suspected foul play.

"I was informed by the US authorities that it will take at least 8 to 10 days for the bodies to reach India after necessary formalities," he said.

"My granddaughter is now with a friend of my son. He had several friends in the local Indian community, which has a 60 per cent population in New Jersey," he said.

Balaji Rudrawar, an IT professional from Ambajogai in Maharashtra's Beed district had moved with his wife to the US in August 2015 after they got married in December 2014, said his father, a businessman from the temple town, around 500 km from Mumbai.

While Balaji was working there for a prominent Indian infotech company, his wife was a homemaker, Rudrawar said.

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News Network
November 26,2025

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Bengaluru, Nov 26: Karnataka is taking its first concrete steps towards lifting a three-decade-old ban on student elections in colleges and universities. Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced Wednesday that the state government will form a small committee to study the reintroduction of campus polls, a practice halted in 1989 following incidents of violence.

Speaking at a 'Constitution Day' event organised by the Karnataka Congress, Mr. Shivakumar underscored the move's aim: nurturing new political leadership from the grassroots.

"Recently, (Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to me and Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) asking us to think about restarting student elections," Shivakumar stated. "I'm announcing today that we'll form a small committee and seek a report on this."

Student elections were banned in Karnataka in 1989, largely due to concerns over violence and the infiltration of political party affiliates into campus life. The ban effectively extinguished vibrant student bodies and the pipeline of young leaders they often produced.

Mr. Shivakumar, who also serves as the Karnataka Congress president, said that former student leaders will be consulted to "study the pros and cons" of the re-introduction.

Acknowledging the history of the ban, he added, "There were many criminal activities taking place back then. We’ll see how we can conduct (student) elections by regulating such criminal activities."

The Deputy CM reminisced about his own journey, which began on campus. He recalled his political activism at Sri Jagadguru Renukacharya College leading to his first Assembly ticket in 1985 at the age of 23. "That's how student leadership was at the time. Such leadership has gone today. College elections have stopped," he lamented, adding that for many, college elections were "like a big movement" where leaders were forged.

The move, driven by the Congress high command's push to cultivate young talent, will face scrutiny from academics and university authorities who have, in the past, expressed concern that the return of polls could disrupt the peaceful academic environment and turn campuses into political battlegrounds.

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