Bodies of Guntur techie, son may arrive tomorrow

Nagaraju Surepalli and his son Ananth Surepalli were found unresponsive last Tuesday in a pool at the Glens of Northville apartment complex in Michigan’s Novi, according to Novi Police Chief David Molloy. Surepalli, from Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur, is survived by 29-year-old wife Bindu. 

His friends and associates had started an online fundraiser to help raise finances for the funeral and taking the bodies back to India. Over $181,000 had been raised through the fundraiser. A post by Ajay Kande on the fundraiser page said the autopsies had been conducted by authorities and the mortal remains were handed to a funeral home to prepare for travel to India.

All formalities have been completed at the funeral home and necessary clearances received from the Indian Consulate to fly the bodies to India. Kande said it is estimated that the bodies of Surepalli and his son will reach India by Tuesday. 

Novi police said Surepalli and his son were playing poolside on May 30 when the child inadvertently fell into the deep end of the pool while riding his tricycle. The father jumped into water, five-feet deep, to rescue his son and became a victim himself as neither were experienced swimmers. The pool did not staff a lifeguard and they were the only occupants in the pool area. The Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted a post-mortem on Monday.