An Indian techie and his pregnant wife were found dead at their home in their North Arlington apartment in the United States, while their neighbors found their four-year-old daughter crying alone in the balcony of their house, authorities said. Balaji Bharat Rudrawar, 32, and his wife Arati, 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.
Police has launched an investigation, although preliminary reports suggest that it was a murder suicide. It is not know what led Balaji to take the extreme step although neighbors said that they would often hear the couple fighting.
Murder and Suicide
According to initial reports, the couple died of an apparent stabbing on Wednesday. Initial investigations suggest that Balaji stabbed and sliced Arati in the abdomen during a scuffle, wherein she unsuccessfully tried to fight him off in their living room.
"The bodies were found on Wednesday after neighbors saw my granddaughter crying in the balcony and informed the local police who then entered the house," Balaji's father Bharat Rudrawar who stays in India, told local media.
According to the county prosecutor's office neighbors spotted the girl crying and called 911. Responding to their call, officers reached the apartment and broke open the door to find the couple lying dead in their living room, while the girl who was too scared saw crying in the balcony.
An investigation has been launched and report from the medical examiner is awaited to determine the exact cause and circumstances of the death. However, police confirmed that both the victims had been stabbed that led to the death.
Innocent Lives Lost
Police believe that it was an incident of murder suicide but they are still investigating the exact reason behind it. During the time of death Arati was seven months pregnant, said Balaji's father. "Local police 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," said Bharat Rudrawar, who is in India.
The bodies will be sent to India following the investigations are over but it is expect to take around eight to 10 days. "We had been to their house and were planning another trip to the United States to be with them again," Bharat said. "I am not aware of any possible motive. They were a happy family and had lovely neighbors," he added.
Balaji was an IT professional from Ambajogai in Maharashtra's Beed district had come been living in the United States with his wife since August 2015. The couple had got married in December 2014. Meanwhile, the couple's four-year-old daughter is in the custody of Balaji's friend. Balaji used to stay in a locality in New Jersey where 60 percent of the population was Indian.
