Tragedy in Novi, Mi - Domestic Violence and Support needed by the Michigan Indian Community

It is Diwali season and celebration of the beginning of a Hindu New Year. And yet in the midst of all the revelry came news of a tragedy; a woman and her two kids were murdered in their home, and the police are looking for the husband and father as a person of interest.

More relevant to this discussion is that this tragedy has befallen an Asian Indian family in Novi, Michigan.

The story as reported by the local news is that the family had recently moved to Novi, husband had lost his job, their car was repossessed, and basically they had fallen into hard times. The father and husband, Lakshminivasa Rao Nerasu, appears to have fled to India and there is an international manhunt underway to locate him.

So what's my point?

If Lakshminivasa is indeed the person who killed his family, questions that come to my mind are:

• Did anyone in the Nerasu extended family (like the brother who notified the police) know Lakshminivasa was approaching breaking point?
• Did the family suffer any kind of domestic violence before the day when they were killed?
• Did the father suffer from depression that went untreated?
• Did the wife and kids tell anyone of the situation at home that may have caused this ultimate tragedy?

It is impossible perhaps to know what may be happening in someone's home. But by raising awareness about available support and by letting people know about the Michigan Asian Indian Family Services (MAIFS.org) we can perhaps avert such tragedies. The MAIFS has professionals who can help provide counseling and guidance in domestic violence situations. If you know of someone facing tough times, let us all encourage them to contact MAIFS. The MAIFS is known for maintaining absolute confidence when working with people facing such situations.

We don't know what led to the Nerasu family tragedy. We can only speculate that hard times led to such a tragedy. But domestic violence happens in various different situations. Even though we all live busy lives, let us all go an extra mile to offer support and a lending hand to those who may need it. And let us raise awareness about available resources such as the MAIFS so that we can help a family in need.

All my best....
Nipa