First they found Soumya dead at Sunfish Lake in Missouri in the US on September 13. Two days later, her cousin Tummula Vikram Reddy’s body was found a few yards away. Was there a suicide pact? Have they been murdered?
The Missouri Police are saying it could be “murder-suicide”. The
Reason: The cousins might have been “living in sin” in the US. And they apparently committed suicide, as they couldn’t think of how to face their families back home. For, love between cousins is a taboo in their society.
Lt Gary Berra of the St Louis County Police Department, Missouri, has been quoted as saying, “At this time, there are only two persons involved. There is no third party.”
The innuendo saddens the family, but it chooses to mourn their son for now than joining issues with the police. “We have got confirmation of Vikram’s death. We do not know what happened. We are in a state of shock,” Shyam Sundar Reddy, a relative said.
According to information reaching here, the local police found Vikram’s body inside a Ford Taurus car, a few yards away from where Soumya’s body was located. Investigators found his wallet in the car, which was registered in Vikram's name. He apparently died from a single gunshot in the mouth.
Vikram took his engineering degree from Gajwel in Medak district in Andhra Pradesh and went to the US six years ago. He completed his masters there and was working there for the past four years.