Bengaluru, Feb 25: The mystery surrounding the murder of Prabha Shetty, a software engineer from Bantwal stabbed to death in Sydney in March 2015, has deepened, with Australian investigators revealing a suspicious transfer of funds to a woman’s account in Sri Lanka from the victim’s compensation amount.
The murder is being investigated by special detective squad, Strike Force Marcoala of New South Wales, Australia.
After Prabha’s death, Rs 1 crore, which included the Australian government’s compensation and benefits from life insurance, was deposited into her account.?
Her husband Arun Kumar based in Bengaluru is the legal nominee to receive compensation, CID sources said. The money was transferred to a woman’s account in Sri Lanka in 2015-16. NWS detectives visited Bengaluru in January and verified details of the accounts of Prabha, her husband and family members.
The suspicious transfer of funds to Sri Lanka came to light during the verification. The detectives interrogated Prabha’s relatives and Kumar over the transfer of funds.
Family friend?
The sleuths were told that the woman, a techie from Bengaluru, was Prabha’s family friend and was undergoing a financial crisis. Hence, the funds were transferred to her account from Prabha’s account.
The woman was in Sri Lanka on an official assignment in 2015-16 and had opened an account there. She was a close friend of the man who transferred the funds.
The woman made a statement to Australian investigators that she received the funds as loan to overcome a financial crisis.
The investigators did not find any convincing evidence to establish a link between the suspicious transfer of funds and Prabha’s murder, sources said.
An unidentified man had followed her and slit her throat on March 7, 2015, while she was passing through a Sydney park about 300 metres away from her house, minutes after she got down from a tram.
CCTV image
The CCTV in the park had captured the image of the assailant. The sleuths had detained over 30 men involved in crimes in Sydney who resembled the assailant. However, it later emerged that they didn’t have any role in that murder.
The sleuths had also interrogated a 27-year-old man who had stabbed two women in the park earlier. However, the investigation established that he was not involved in Prabha’s case.
A native of Nandagokula in Amtoor near Kalladka in Bantwal taluk, Prabha had moved to Bengaluru in 1998. She was sent to Australia for a project for a year by her employer Mindtree in 2012.
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