3 of Indian family killed; manhunt for husband

New York, Oct 31: Less than a month after the Indian-American family of Karthik Rajaram became a victim of the US financial meltdown, another seemed family succumbed to the crisis.

Police have begun a hunt for the perpetrator of three slayings earlier in the week at the town of Novi, in the state of Michigan. The perpetrator, according to police, is a 42-year-old husband and father of the victims. Jayalakshmi Nerusu (37), her daughter Tejasvi (14) and son Siva (12) were found dead on Monday evening in their home. Police visited their home, after a relative of the victims told them that he had not heard from the family for several days. David E Molloy, the police chief at Novi, addressed a news conference later in the week. ''There was a significant amount of trauma to the head and neck areas of each victim,'' he was quoted as saying by the Detroit News. He described the crime scene as 'brutal' and 'very disturbing.' Rao is being described as unemployed software programmer. The police apparently suspect Lakshminivasa Rao Nerusu (42), the husband of Jayalakshmi, for the killings. Molly described him only as a 'person of interest' in the investigation. According to police, Rao had been living at the same address where the killings took place. But his current whereabouts are not known.

Police made it clear that no domestic violence had earlier been reported with regard to the family. 'Sharp-edged weapons' were reportedly found at the crime scene. ''There was no sign of forced entry and the home was locked, so we believe they (the victims) might have known the person who attacked them and that person locked the door afterwards,'' Mr Molloy said.

Jayalakshmi was a housewife, Tejasvi attended the high school and Siva the middle school. The family had earlier lived in Texas and Illinois. Rao was described as five feet and six inches tall, lean and has dark complexion.

''We're involving several police agencies, local and federal, including immigration (in search for him),'' Mr Molloy said, according to the Detroit News. ''We're confident as this unfolds we will be able to find the person responsible.'' The Detroit Free Press reported that all members of the family were legal residents of the US and were originally from India. The newspaper said, quoting Mr Molloy, that the ''investigation could go international.'' ''It's very shocking,'' the Detroit Free Press quoted Novi town spokeswoman Sheryl Walsh as saying about the triple slaying. ''And it's very uncommon for Novi.'' Over three weeks ago, Rajaram killed his family members before shooting himself to death in California.

UNI