LEICESTER PRAYS IN MEMORY OF MURDERED INDIAN WOMEN
Leicester, November 13, 2007 (IANS)

The Asian community and others in Leicester are in a state of shock over the death of two women of Indian origin who were found dead in a nursing home bedroom last Wednesday. A local church held a remembrance service in the memory of Rashmi Badiani, 56, and Radhaben Chauhan, 72. Their bodies were found by staff at the Hayes Park Nursing Home whose owners are of Indian origin.

Nineteen-year-old Nathan Mann has been arrested and charged with the murder of the two women. Mann appeared before magistrates in Leicester on Saturday morning. He was remanded in custody. No application was made for bail.

At the St Chad's Church near the nursing home, members of the congregations gathered to pray for the deceased. A member of the church said as she read out the prayers: "We pray at this time for all those who mourn the loss of Rashni and Radhaben and especially for their family and all who have been affected in the community."

Speaking before the service, Reverend Clare King, a minister at St Chad's, said: "It is obviously a very distressing time for many people, not least the families. We felt it was appropriate to offer our prayers for them. We have very strong relationships with all the people in this community and we have all been affected by the events of last week in some way."

Father Reg Stretton, who led the service, said: "The Church of England is the church for everyone and we pray for everyone, regardless of faith. We wanted to express our support for the families and our concern for the whole community."

Badiani had been a resident at the home since December 2004, and Chauhan had lived there since August. The Leicestershire police said Badiani had suffered serious head injuries, but they were still awaiting post-mortem examination results to determine exactly how both women died.

Nursing home directors Suresh Kotecha and his brother Mahesh, said in a statement: "The staff, management and directors treat the residents as their own family and, as such, the murders of two of our family members has hurt us profoundly. Our sympathies and prayers go to the relatives of these two ladies who are the victims of this act."