The estranged husband of Babita Sarjou and his accomplice are expected to be arraigned today for the woman’s murder, after her skeletal remains were discovered in the man’s Seaforth Street, Campbellville, Georgetown,
Dead: Babita Sarjou
yard on Sunday afternoon – six years after she went missing.
Anand Narine, the estranged husband, and his accomplice, who were arrested on Saturday, allegedly confessed to the woman’s murder and later led investigators to the spot where they buried her body back in 2010.
It was during the search of the identified spot that investigators came upon what appeared to be a shallow grave. Digging further, they found two bones and a short while after, Police found most of the skeletal remains. Pieces of clothing were also found in the grave.
Police made the dreadful discovery some two days after taking into custody the woman’s husband and another close friend of hers, after informing her mother, Champa Seonarine that they were reopening the case.
The statutory 72-hour detention period without charge expired on Monday, but Police moved to the courts and were able to secure an extension. Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum had earlier revealed that samples of the woman’s remains will be sent to neighbouring Trinidad and Tobago for DNA testing. However, the woman’s relatives were able to identify some belongings found with her remains, including her bag and clothing.
Sarjou, 28, mother of a now 10-year-old son, who used to reside at Timehri Public Road, East Bank Demerara, left her desk and computer unattended at work in November 2010, never to return. Her family and the Police had since been searching for the missing woman.
In early April, Seonarine, along with officials from the Caribbean American Domestic Violence Awareness (CADVA) organisation, had again petitioned for the case to be reopened. Seonarine said all she needed was some closure. The dead woman’s mother at the beginning of the investigations had voiced her belief that her daughter’s estranged husband had something to do with her disappearance.
It was also reported that there were several instances of domestic violence and reports made to both the Kitty and Timehri Police Stations by Sarjou against her husband.
In 2010, during the initial investigations, the Police held her husband for questioning for 72 hours and then released him.
