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Indian student raped, killed in Oz
The body of a 24-year-old Indian student —raped, murdered and stuffed in a suitcase — was fished out of a canal in the northwest part of the city last week.
The body of a 24-year-old Indian student —raped, murdered and stuffed in a suitcase — was fished out of a canal in the northwest part of the city last week.
Tosha Thakkar, a student of Sydney College of Business and IT, moved to Australia from Vadodara two years back and was in the last semester of a post-graduate accounting degree. The suspected culprit, Thakkar's 19-year-old neighbour, Daniel Stani-Reginald, was arrested and charged with murder on Friday.
Reginald, who is of Sri Lankan origin, and Thakkar lived in separate apartments. Reginald, the police allege, attacked Thakkar when she was alone in her apartment last Wednesday.
External affairs minister SM Krishna described the incident on Monday as "unfortunate" and said New Delhi was closely following the probe. "We are getting a report from our ambassador."
The New South Wales Police have charged Reginald with murder and aggravated sexual assault. "There is no indication that this crime was racially motivated," an official said.
About 20 friends and family members of Thakkar turned up at the court on Monday. "She didn't deserve such a painful death," The Age quoted a friend as saying outside the court.
