Sydney Park Murder: Police Release Footage of Indian Woman Minutes Before Fatal Attack

Australian police on Monday released surveillance footage showing the moments before an Indian woman was stabbed to death near a Sydney park on Saturday night. Indian and Australian authorities condemned the killing of the 41-year-old woman.

Prabha Arun Kumar, an IT professional, died in a hospital in the early hours of Sunday after she was allegedly attacked by an unidentified person near Parramatta Park while on her way home from work. Kumar was reportedly talking on the phone with her husband, who lives in the southern Indian city of Bangalore with their 9-year-old daughter, when the assault took place. Police reportedly said that the woman sustained a number of injuries, believed to be caused by a “sharp-edged weapon.”

The footage, which shows Kumar talking on the phone after getting off a train at Parramatta railway station, does not show the attack, and authorities reportedly said that the footage did not show anyone following the woman. No arrests have so far been made in the case.

“We are hoping this will jog the memory of anyone who was in the vicinity of Argyle Street, Park Parade or Amos Street that evening, and encourage them to come forward and speak with police,” Michael Willing, a detective superintendent in the New South Wales police force, said, about the video, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Police reportedly refused to reveal details of the phone call but said that the woman told her husband she was stabbed, before the conversation abruptly ended.

India’s foreign ministry condemned the attack Monday and added that it was providing assistance to Kumar’s family.

New South Wales Premier Mike Baird condemned the "brutal and cowardly attack," and said that authorities would make all efforts to "bring the perpetrators of this horrific crime to justice,” according to BBC.

The incident comes nearly six years after several attacks on Indian students in Australia sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries. At the time, the attacks were described as racist by the Indian government, but Australian authorities had denied the allegations.

“There is nothing to suggest any racial angle to the murder,” Indian Consul General Sanjay Sudhir said, on Monday, according to NDTV, an Indian news network, which added that robbery had also been ruled out as a motive as the woman’s relatives reportedly said that only her mobile phone was missing.