UDUPI AND MANGALURU : A couple from Karnataka, living and working in Munich, Germany, were attacked by an immigrant in the early hours of Saturday, leaving the husband dead and the wife severely injured. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted news of the attack on the couple on Saturday morning and said that she had instructed the Indian mission in Munich to take care of the children of the couple and that arrangements had been made to fly the relatives of the couple out to Germany. The couple have two children, a daughter Sakhishya (15) and a son Shloka (10).
“Prashant has expired. Smita is stable. We are facilitating the travel of Prashant’s brother to Germany. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family,” Swaraj said, in her tweet. Prashant was working as a software engineer in Munich and the couple has two children.
Meanwhile, a pall of gloom descended on Smitha’s hometown, Siddapur of Kundapur taluk, as news of the incident spread. Speaking to Express, Sujay, Smitha’s brother, said his family, including his parents, wife and himself, were leaving for Munich immediately. Smitha’s father, Dr Chandramouli, is a popular ayurveda doctor in Siddapur, and the family is well known.
Several residents who knew the family said that the news had left Dr Chandramouli shattered. “We are told that the government will help with arrangements to bring back Prashanth’s body at the earliest. Smitha is said to be recovering,” a distraught Umesh, a relative of Dr Chandramouli, said.
Hope Smitha returns home, say residents
Smithais the second child and has two brothers. Ajay, the elder brother works in Dubai while Sujay, is a civil engineer, is working in Siddapur. The family owns a twowheeler showroom and a few commercial complexes in the city, which has a large section of residents with relatives working outside India. The couple had last visited the town around a year ago with their children.
Just five months back, Smitha’s family had visited her in Munich during a holiday. Smitha completed her graduation at Bhandarkars Arts and Science College in Kundapur and her post graduation at Mangalore University. Prashant studied at the NMAMIT, Udupi. Smitha married Prashant nearly a decade ago. Residents of the small town said that they were praying that Smitha returns home stable and fondly spoke of her as a ‘simple college going girl’ dedicated to her family.