New Delhi : A female Indian software professional and her seven-year-old son were murdered in the US, the deceased woman’s family has alleged.

The Andhra Pradesh-based family said the 40-year-old N Sasikala and her son, Anish Sai, were found dead at their New Jersey home.

The bodies were discovered by N Hanumantha Rao, Sasikala’s husband who is also a software professional, on Thursday evening after he returned from work.

According to news agency IANS, Y Sambasiva Rao, an Andhra Pradesh MLA, spoke to Telugu Association of North America (TANA) representatives over phone.

Rao told the agency that the mother and son were strangulated to death.

The couple had been living in the US for nine years and Sasikala used to work from home.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu tweeted about the murder, saying, “Pained to hear about the killing of Sasikala & son Sai in New Jersey, US. My condolences to the family members.”

Telugu Desam Party General Secretary and MLC Nara Lokesh too expressed grief on Twitter, posting, “Saddened to learn about the killing of Sasikala and her son in New Jersey, US. Strongly condemn such acts of violence.”

Recently, there have been a spate of attacks targeting Indians in the US.

In February this year, 32-year-old IT professional Srinivas Kuchibhotla and his friend injured when a man named Adam Purinton opened fire at the duo at a bar in Kansas.

Kuchibhotla was from Telangana and Purinton allegedly yelled ‘go back to your country’ at the Indian duo before opening fire.

In early March, an Indian-origin store owner was shot dead outside his home in South Carolina and two days later, a Sikh man was non-fatally injured after being shot at in Kent, Washington.