IndiaPost.com - Vigil brings unsolved Angara murder into focus

With investigators dragging their feet in finding the killer of Dr. Geetha Angara, the Totowa Water Treatment plant chemist whose body was found on the plant premises two years ago, her family and friends are pleading for a closure to their plight.

For the second year in a row, the Angara family, their friends, several elected representatives and supporters from the community at large gathered on Feb 11 for a memorial service and candle light vigil for Geetha Angara, at a Holmdel, New Jersey community center, where they expressed frustration at the slackening investigations into the case by local investigators.

Heartening though was news that the New Jersey Attorney General’s office has now decided to look into the case and that there was likelihood of the FBI stepping in to help solve the baffling homicide. Recently, the family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the utility company and many of its employees.

The body of Geetha Angara, a mother of three, who had been working as a chemist at the Totowa Water Treatment plant for over a decade, was found at the bottom of the 9-million gallon drinking water tank in February 2005. Her disappearance at work that morning was not realized for nearly eight hours. At 8 pm that evening, her car was found in the parking lot and the next day, her body was found submerged in the water tank. Autopsy revealed that she was strangled, but died of drowning.

Despite investigations when detectives failed to establish neither motive nor evidence, they could not make any arrests although they had narrowed down the number of suspects at Geetha’s workplace to three.

At the vigil last weekend, Geetha’s husband Jaya Angara urged the community to come together to fight this injustice. “This is an issue beyond Geetha,” he told the gathering. “We need answers. This should not happen to any mother. I do not want my wife’s case to get on the back burner and be forgotten.”

Jaya said it was important not only for the Angara family but the community at large because they drink the water from this plant, and as an issue of public safety it should be taken up by the Department of Homeland Security too.

“I’m glad that finally the Attorney General’s office is involved,” Jaya further said. “We are happy that they can fully allocate resources and get to the bottom of the case.”

Expressing deep sorrow for the family, Senator Joseph M Kyrillos Jr (R-NJ) called it a “senseless death.” “I’ve been very touched by the humanity of this beautiful woman,” he said.

“It’s not justice, retribution or vengeance that we are looking for,” said Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ). “We are just looking for peace of mind for the family and their friends.”

Congressman Holt later told India Post it was apparent that not enough attention was being paid to the case by the investigating agencies. “When it became difficult, when evidence was scarce, it’s too easy to say that there’s nothing to be done. Of course, I couldn’t accept that, and so many of Geetha’s friends couldn’t accept that that nothing could be done.”

The Congressman further said he has been encouraging the various investigating agencies to coordinate and work together on this to find the answers. “I don’t know the stage of the investigations, so I cannot say specifically what other steps need to be taken. But I will stay in close touch and do what I can.”

New Jersey Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula, who has been regularly meeting with the Angara family since Geetha’s death, said he had taken the initiative of asking the Attorney General’s office to look into the case. “I had been following up with the AG’s office for sometime and when the new Attorney General took over, I met with him even before he started his job, and told him he needs to look into the Geetha Angara case. Chivukula told India Post that with gangs and shootings and drug related cases, the State may not prioritize cases like that of Geetha. “So, from the community point of view, we should make it a priority and make noise persistently,” he said. “We as a community, with more than 200,000 people, cannot be complacent, we have to really go for it through letter writing campaigns, public meetings etc., and ask for justice. It is up to the community to keep the issue hot.”

Chivukula, however, said he does not think there was any discrimination because it was a case concerning the minority community.

Mayor of Totowa Serena Dimasso who stopped by to express her solidarity with the family, promised to do whatever she could to help them.

Also expressing their support to the Angara family were Jayesh Patel, President of the Federation of Indian Associations; Ramakrishna Eleswarupu, President of the Telugu Fine Arts Society; Muthu Kumar of Tamil Sangam, Pradip Kothari of the Indo-American Cultural Association.

On his part, Eleswarupu said, “This delay (in investigations) is disconcerting, not because we are the minority community, but irrespective of who the victim is, we should be rightfully angry. We should all be angry and express frustration in a democratic manner so the official machinery moves.”

Eleswarupu also pointed out that it was a case of workplace violence that too at a public utility place. “So, if the killer is not caught, they could cause havoc.

While Kothari warned that the issue would die down if the community did not keep up the pressure, Patel said, “Hopefully, now that the AG’s office is getting involved, we will have new resources, strengths and tools, and the truth will prevail.”

As the speeches of remembrance, solidarity, anger and frustration ended, the Angara family including Geetha’s children, her parents, sister, uncles and aunts, led the elected representatives and the community in a candle light vigil outside.