The brutal murders of a 37-year-old woman from Karnataka’s Mysuru and her two children have shocked a small suburb in South Dublin. 37-year-old Seema Banu Syed, her 11-year-old daughter Asfira Riza and 6-year-old son Faizan Syed were on Friday found strangled to death in their house in Llywellen Court in Ballinteer suburb of Ireland. According to the local police, the three are believed to have been killed around five days before their bodies were found.
Local reports say the family had moved to Ireland less than a year ago. Seema's husband Sameer Syed was allegedly out of town and had been apprised of the incident, media reports said. The Syeds, who originally hail from Mysuru in Karnataka, had moved from Dubai to Ireland in February this year after Sameer got a job there.
The Dundrum Garda Station in Ireland said in a press release that a murder investigation has been launched after an autopsy was performed. The Irish media reported that the two children were found dead with ligature marks around their neck in one room of the house, while Seema Banu was found strangled in another. The Irish Police said to the local media that the murders occurred over last weekend (Bank Holiday weekend).
Officers from the Armed Support Unit entered Seema's residence in South Dublin after her neighbours had complained to the police that the family had not been seen for a while. The killer allegedly left water running and had caused extensive flood damage, The Irish Times reported. "Gardaí (Irish state police) are continuing to interview witnesses, conduct extensive door-to-door enquiries and gather and examine all relevant CCTV,” the Dundrum Garda said in a statement.
The Irish police had released a photograph of a person believed to have known the Syeds and sent out an appeal to report any information about the family or the person in the picture. The man in the photo appeared at the police station and news reports stated that he is allegedly cooperating with the Investigation. The 30-year-old man has now been put on 24-hour surveillance.
According to reports, Seema Banu was also a victim of assault in May this year and a case was registered with the Irish Police. The Irish Times reported that the accused in the case was due to report before a court in April next year for the hearing in the case.
One among eight children to aged parents in Mysuru district, Seema's family has made an appeal to the Indian embassy in Ireland and Irish authorities, to help them with the repatriation of the bodies. The family told Irish website RTE that it would cost them close to Rs 15 lakh for the repatriation process and that they could not afford it. "We would be thankful for our lifetime if you could send our loved ones back to our family so we can see them one last time and do the last proceedings from our own hand. That would be really helpful," Seema's cousin Sufi Masood told RTE.
The Indian Embassy in Ireland has also expressed shock over the incident.
RIP pic.twitter.com/YTmwX6zPof
— India in Ireland (Embassy of India, Dublin) (@IndiainIreland) October 29, 2020