{"id":744690,"date":"2026-06-18T15:08:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/744690\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T15:08:19","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T15:08:19","slug":"joint-funeral-planned-after-father-threw-daughter-into-sydneys-parramatta-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/744690\/","title":{"rendered":"Joint funeral planned after father threw daughter into Sydney\u2019s Parramatta River"},"content":{"rendered":"

A young girl who was thrown overboard by her father<\/a> before he jumped into the river in a suspected planned murder-suicide will be buried together at a joint funeral.<\/p>\n

Maulik Dhandhukia, 47, threw his daughter, believed to be aged 6 or 7, from a rented boat into the Parramatta River in Sydney\u2019s<\/a> inner west before entering the water on Saturday.<\/p>\n

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Father drowns daughter in planned Parramatta River murder-suicide<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

His body was found floating by a passerby boater shortly before midday, while specialist police<\/a> spent almost six hours searching for the young girl\u2019s body.<\/p>\n

A joint funeral for the pair will be held on Friday at Castlebrook Crematorium in Rouse Hill, according to a funeral notice shared on social media.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe funeral notice described the pair as \u201ctwo kind and gentle souls who will forever remain in our hearts\u201d. Credit: Facebook<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo kind and gentle souls who will forever remain in our hearts,\u201d the notice reads.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMay their souls rest in peace and live on in the loving memories of their loved ones.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Detectives found a suicide note on board the vessel, confirming their suspicions that the tragedy was premeditated.<\/p>\n

Investigators also found Dhandhukia had rented a runabout several times in the week leading up to the tragedy from Cabarita Point Marina.<\/p>\n

Dhandhukia and his daughter arrived at the marina in an Uber about 10am on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\"MaulikMaulik Dhandhukia and his wife Pritiben Dhandhukia with their daughter. Credit: GoFundMe<\/p>\n

His body was found near Hen and Chicken Bay at Abbotsford about 11.45am, while his daughter\u2019s body was recovered from the river at Concord about 5.30pm.<\/p>\n

A family friend said the tragedy had left Dhandhukia\u2019s wife and the girl\u2019s mother, Pritiben Dhandhukia, \u201cutterly alone\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am writing to ask for your help for a woman who has just lost everything that mattered most to her,\u201d Jignesh Parmar wrote on a GoFundMe<\/a> page.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer beloved husband and her cherished daughter \u2014 her entire family, her whole reason for getting up each morning \u2014 were taken from her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe home that was once full of love and laughter is now silent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Pritiben, who gave her heart to her family every single day, has been left utterly alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA major search operation was launched for the young girl. Credit: 7NEWS<\/p>\n

Parmar said the fundraiser would help cover funeral expenses and provide ongoing financial support.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of us can bring back what she has lost,\u201d Parmar wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we can make sure she doesn\u2019t have to grieve while also lying awake at night worrying about money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just over a week before the incident, Dhandhukia shared a lengthy Facebook post about chronic neck pain, which he said had caused \u201c70 to 90 per cent\u201d of the problems in his life.<\/p>\n

He wrote that the pain began after he failed to warm up properly before a gym session in Mumbai in 2004 or 2005 and had persisted for more than two decades.<\/p>\n

Dhandhukia claimed the condition had forced him to turn down a US visa and Canadian permanent residency.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, I have turned 47 and so ageing will start showing its effect,\u201d he wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an absolute tragedy for the family and the community on every level,\u201d Burwood Police Area Command Superintendent Christine McDonald said.<\/p>\n

If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.<\/p>\n

For further information about depression contact beyondblue on 1300 224 636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A young girl who was thrown overboard by her father before he jumped into the river in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":744691,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,48,5846,44,5847,4277,670],"class_list":["post-744690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-crime","tag-crime-sydney","tag-news","tag-nsw-news","tag-nsw-police","tag-sydney"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=744690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/744691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=744690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=744690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=744690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}