Body of murdered Indian woman to be flown home

Police have released the body of a woman who was murdered in Sharjah to her family so that they can perform the final rites in India.

Bala Kava, 28, who was also known as ÒLucky" was murdered during a robbery on December 15, 2011 in Sharjah, UAE. Her family is urging police to expedite the investigation in order for the family to perform final rites in India. Police arrested two men in connection with the case. (Handout photo provided by family)
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SHARJAH // The body of an Indian woman who was murdered during a robbery in Sharjah is likely to be flown home tonight so the family can administer final rites.

Police have arrested two men in connection with the murder of Bala Kava, 28, who was found stabbed to death in her flat.

The family said that after nearly a month, they have received the body. The release of the body followed a report in The National this week in which the family urged investigators to accelerate their investigation into the December 15 murder.

The family said they needed to dispose of the body as per Hindu traditions, which require cremation soon after death.

"Final rites would be performed in her home town Ludhiana once the body arrives," said Kiran Kava, the brother-in-law of the deceased.

He said Mrs Kava's mother and her husband were accompanying the deceased back to India.

"We waited for more than 25 days to get the body. It's a double tragedy for us," he said today.

Bala Kava was the youngest of four sisters from Ludhiana in Punjab. She moved to the UAE after marrying the Indian civil engineer Suraj Kava in 2009.

She was alone when robbers ransacked the house and killed her. Her 58-year-old mother, who was visiting, was away from the flat at the time of Mrs Kava's murder.

Her mother later found her in a pool of blood in her bedroom. Dh50,000 had been stolen, according to police.

Relatives said they were upset that the victim's mother was questioned by investigators. She was close to the body when police arrived, and was checking the victim's pulse, they said.

"Anyway, we don't want to talk about it as the matter is over now and we are waiting for the body to come home," Kiran Kava said.

Col Mohamed Rashid Al Bayati, the director general of Sharjah's CID, said earlier this week that crime scene evidence led investigators to the two men. Police claim that both suspects confessed to stabbing the woman, with the intention of robbing her. They said the two men were friends of Mrs Kava and had admired her jewellery.

When they arrived at the house, they are said to have checked that Mrs Kava was alone before entering and killing her.

Police said the men had shown them where they had hidden the jewellery and the laptop they had stolen. Col Al Bayati said Mrs Kava was stabbed in the neck, chest and stomach, and died almost immediately.

The Indian consulate is helping the family to repatriate the body.

frahman@thenational.ae