Death in US: Parents ask to clear son's name from allegations

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Even while the family of techie Pawan Kumar (26), who was found dead in a New Jersey motel, is counting the hours for the arrival of his body, they hinted that they may even refuse to claim the body unless they get a detailed report clearing all doubts about his death and the allegations against him of having killed a woman.

“We do not want to bury the body as a murder accused. The investigation report will be accepted on condition that it is not biased and is satisfactory. The incident has let down, not only the family, but even the country, as an Indian citizen has been accused of killing a foreign national in foreign land. There is no satisfactory evidence to prove the allegations,” Pawan’s uncle Mr K. P. Gopalkrishna said.

“If Cognizant does not come forward to take responsibility and help us go about the whole process, we are contemplating of filing a case against the company. We are in constant touch with our lawyer to see if there is a provision for a parallel probe as we feel that Pawan may have been framed,” Mr Gopalkrishna said.

“The three-page death note is the most crucial piece of evidence which can throw light on the incident. We hope that the note will be handed over to us. Pawan’s laptop, his mobile phone call details have to be retrieved and handed over to us for a parallel probe,” he said.

“We got a call from the office of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) assuring us of help. The Telugu Association in North America has also etended their help in getting us justice,” he added.

Pawan was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a room at Belleville Motor Lodge, in Belleville, New Jersey. Pawan is suspected to have murdered Danielle Mehlman (26), a teacher and a part-time dancer at a club. She was found murdered two days before the death of Kumar. Mehlman’s body was discovered by housekeepers in a room on the first floor the motel on June 18.