Melbourne, Mar 14 : 24-year-old Indian student Tosha Thakkar was found raped and murdered after her body was located stuffed inside a suitcase near a canal in Sydney last week.
"On 11 March morning, construction workers found the suitcase containing the woman's body in a water canal near Meadowbank Park and alerted police," said a statement issued by the local police.
Police are waiting for the results of a post-mortem examination to determine exactly how she died.They have confirmed she was last seen alive on March 9.Thakkar was studying accounting at the Sydney College of Business and IT, which collaborates with Southern Cross University, and was a permanent resident of Australia.
Friends and family of Thakkar told media that they had no idea why she was killed.The body of Thakkar was stuffed into a suitcase which construction workers spotted in a canal near Meadowbank Park as they were doing maintenance on an oil pipeline.
Watch Video:- Indian Girl Raped, Murdered, Body Stuffed In A Suitcase In Aus
Police has arrested 19-year-old Daniel Stani-Reginald in connection with the murder and the accused was questioned by detectives and charged with murder and aggravated sexual assault.
Accused Stani-Reginald, who lived close to Thakkar in Croydon, was arrested at an Ashfield motel on weekend and appeared via video link in Parramatta Local Court yesterday,according to the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.
The court refused to grant him bail.The accused glanced at the Indian students who poured into the court in their dozens, filling the chairs and every centimetre of floor space, and then bowed his head for the duration of the hearing.
Charged with aggravated sexual assault and murder, he did not apply for bail and it was formally refused, with the matter adjourned to Burwood Local Court today.
Outside the court, the students held up a poster that read "We want justice for our Indian international friend Tosha Thakkar".Anish Popli, the husband of Thakkar's first cousin,said nobody had cause to attack her.
"She wouldn't hurt or harm anybody. She had been living in Australia for three or four years and did not fit the profile of a fresh-faced arrival vulnerable to attack.
"It's not like she's never been here - she knew her way around," he said.Southern Cross University extended its condolences to Thakkar's family, friends and colleagues, a spokeswoman said yesterday.The university is providing counselling and support services to students and staff.
Sydney Morning Herald reports, Tosha was murdered by a "predator" who waited until their housemate was away to sexually assault and kill her, police will allege.
The case was mentioned briefly in Burwood Local Court today, but 19-year-old storeman Daniel Stani-Reginald, who has been charged with raping and murdering the 24-year-old student last week, chose not to appear.Around 20 friends and family of Ms Thakkar, who had been living in Australia to study accounting, turned up to court.
''We are very upset of course and are just waiting to get justice ASAP,'' a friend said outside court. ''She was very nice, the type that got along with everybody and she didn't deserve this, such a painful death.''No-one can believe it, it's unbelievable.''
Tosha's cousin Niralee said she was ''a lovely human being'' who was too young to die.''No human being should ever deserve something like this,'' she told reporters.
''We just hope her soul rests in peace and everything's being done that could be done for her.''Outside the court, Detective Chief Inspector Pamela Young, said Ms Thakkar, an Indian national, was a "respectful young woman"."She did not deserve this at all," she said. "She did nothing whatsoever to contribute to what happened to her."
Tosha's body was found on Friday morning by contractors working on routine maintenance of an oil pipeline in a canal running behind Meadowbank Park in north-western Sydney. It had been stuffed into a large, black, cloth suitcase.
Detective Chief Inspector Young said Ms Tosha's parents had not yet made plans to come to Australia and police hoped to return her body to India for a proper Hindu funeral service.
"I understand her father is very ill," she said. Stani-Reginald, believed to be an Australian of Sri Lankan descent and who is alleged to have murdered Ms Thakker last Wednesday, did not apply for bail and bail was formally refused.He is scheduled to reappear in court on May 9.
Terming the rape and murder as "unfortunate", External Affairs Minister S M Krishna today said the government was closely monitoring the investigations in the case.
Krishna said the Government has sought a report about the case from Indian embassy officials in Australia."This is a very very unfortunate incident, which has been reported. And I have asked...we are getting a report from our ambassador. We are closely following it up...monitoring it..and we will see that justice is done," Krishna told reporters outside Parliament.
Meanwhile, the Australian High Commission in Delhi has said that there was no indication to say that the rape and murder was racially motivated.
The High Commissioner Peter Varghese has sent a personal message of condolence to Tosha's father and has also spoken to the family, it said.
"This brutal killing will shock Australians. The police are determined that the perpetrator will be brought to justice. There is no indication that this awful crime was racially motivated," the release said.
"Our thoughts are with Tosha's family and friends in India and Australia," it said.
Thakkar was studying accounting at the Sydney College of Business and IT, which collaborates with Southern Cross University, and was a permanent resident of Australia.
The High Commission said, "Australian police have acted quickly - they arrested a suspect on Friday, the same day as the discovery of the victim's body. The New South Wales Police have charged a 19 year-old with murder and aggravated sexual assault.
"In a court hearing in Sydney today, the suspect was denied bail," it said. PTI
