Melbourne: In a shocking incident, an Indian woman IT consultant, employed with Bengaluru-based tech firm MindTree, was brutally stabbed and murdered by some unknown people in Australia last night.


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41-year-old Indian IT consultant, Prabha Arun Kumar, was in the lane way that runs through the Parramatta park, just 300 metres from her home, when the incident took place, police said on Sunday as they launched a probe into the horrific attack.


Kumar was on the phone talking to her husband when the horrific attack happened yesterday in Westmead, a suburb in Sydney, a family member said.


"Last word's my uncle heard from my aunt was that- she was stabbed; they both were on phone as usual after her office hours, this was some where around 3 pm IST," Prabha Arun Kumar's nephew Thrijesh Jayachandra said.


Jayachandra further said, "We have got the information in the morning that the postmortem is going on, and we have also been told that tomorrow morning the appointment is taken for my uncle and my aunt's brother Shankar who is in Australia for going to the hospital and seeing her (Prabha) body."


Police found Prabha Arun "seriously wounded" and took her to the Westmead Hospital where she later died, The Sydney Morning Herald reported, adding that a local man, Arvand Amirian, called police after finding the woman in a pool of blood.


A friend of Kumar, who was walking home from work when she was brutally stabbed, said she always felt guilty about getting a lift home late at night.


The woman, who asked not to be named, told The Daily Telegraph she had warned Prabha about the dangers of the park.


"I told her that it is not a safe way to come through because there are people that stop and ask you for money, like 2 dollars," she said.


Superintendent Wayne Cox from Parramatta police said earlier that the woman left the station, walked along Argyle Street and onto Park Parade before being attacked in Parramatta Park.


"At this point she has taken a lane way connected up to Amos St in Westmead, and during this journey she has been attacked by a person or unknown persons," he said.


She suffered a life threatening injury. She was transported to Westmead Hospital where she was pronounced dead.


"There was a large amount of blood so she obviously suffered a significant wound," Cox said, PTI reported.


Police have cordoned off the entire area. A crime scene has also been established and is being examined by specialist forensic officers.


Police are scanning the CCTV footage of her walking from the station along Argyle Street and on to Park Parade to see if there was anyone following her into Parramatta Park.


The attack happened near a cluster of trees with wide open spaces on either side and was 20 metres from the nearest light, media reports said.


Prabha's husband Arun Kumar lives in Bengaluru with their 10-year-old daughter. The husband is on his way to Sydney along with their daughter, media reports said.


Meanwhile, assuring complete assistance, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said, “Consulate in Sydney is aware of the sad incident, they are providing all necessary assistance,” as per ANI.


Reacting over the horrific incident, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja said, “ We have large number of Indians staying in Australia, Govt should take up this issue very seriously.”  


The Information technology and outsourcing company Mindtree also dubbed the stabbing of its Indian employee as 'extremely unfortunate' and 'shocking'.


A statement released by the firm said that it would provide all necessary support to help investigate the case.


"It is extremely unfortunate and shocking. Our prayers are with the family of the deceased. We are working with the officials of both the countries to help the family to bring the body back to India. We are providing all the necessary support to authorities investigating the case," the statement said.


(With Agency inputs)