Why are New Jersey police quiet on Sasikala Narra, Anish Narra murders?

March 30, 2017

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NEW YORK: A week has gone by and the Maple Shade Police Department and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office, in New Jersey, have, apart from a short statement a day after the gruesome murders of 38-year-old Indian national Sasikala Narra, and her 6-year-old son Anish Narra, not given a single update on the progress of the investigation, and who the suspect or suspects might be.

In the meantime, the media, both here in the US, and in India – via relatives of the deceased, continue to speculate on what transpired on the day of March 23^rd, and the reason why somebody, or individuals, would brutally stab a mother and her small, innocent child to death by repeatedly stabbing them in their face and hands.

The parents of Sasikala Narra and her brother have accused the husband and father of the victims, Hanumantha Rao Narra, as having an affair with a woman, and that the marriage between the two had broken down. Sasikala had confessed her sadness and despair to her brother, and even spoken about going back to India, to a neighbor. The parents have alleged that Hanumantha Rao Narra is behind the murders.

In that brief press release by the Burlington Prosecutor’s Office, there was also this statement: “Contrary to some media reports, at this point there is no indication that this is a hate crime connected to the fact that the victims are of Indian origin.”

CBS Philly in a report confirmed that Hanumantha Rao Narra was having an affair with a woman.

“A source involved in the investigation confirms to Eyewitness News that Hanumanthu Narra was involved in a relationship with another woman as of last week, but has a strong alibi,” reported CBS Philly.

However, Hanumantha Rao Narra, apart from interrogated for hours on multiple occasions, not been charged or named as a suspect.

It’s getting puzzling as to why law enforcement personnel involved in the investigation are not updating on the investigation itself.

Is it that they are flummoxed by the crime, which they have said in that press release last week is being handled as a double homicide investigation? Is it that they have narrowed down their suspect or suspects and are gathering evidence to strengthen their case? Why did they make it clear that it was not a hate crime, the morning after the crime was discovered around 9 p.m.? Is it because they believe or of Indian-origin? Is it a crime of passion? Was the killer a man or a woman? Was more than one person involved in the brutal murders? Was it a random stranger who committed the crimes? Were Sasikala Narra or Anish Narra sexually assaulted? Was it a killer who had plenty of time to do his deed and then calmly walk out? Was there a break-in or did the suspect walk in through an open door?

Questions continue to mount, and the Indian Diaspora in the US and back home in India are awaiting answers, or at least some word on what’s going on. Unfortunately, a week has gone by, and there are no answers to any of the above questions.

It’s amazing that in a country like the US where an abduction of a child immediately gets police personnel from multiple states involved and a text message is sent to cell phones of millions of residents, a mother and her child have been stabbed to death and a week has gone by without a single word on the investigation.

What are the neighbors and residents in the Fox Meadow Apartments in Maple Shade, New Jersey, and neighboring areas to think? There’s a vicious killer or killers on the loose and authorities are not saying anything. That’s not reassuring, to say the least.

Meanwhile, the family of Sasikala Narra and Anish Narra await their bodies back home in India. They can only hope that they get some closure soon with the suspect or suspects named or rounded up.