Essequibo farmer pleads guilty to strangling reputed wife

A Parika, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) farmer now awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to a manslaughter charge over the strangulation of his reputed wife.

Initially indicted for the murder of Dhanwantie Ram, Ganesh Dhanraj, 33, who appeared before Justice Jo Ann Barlow on Monday, pleaded guilty to the lesser count.
The charge to which he pleaded guilty stated that he unlawfully killed Ram on April 5, 2017. Dhanraj, called “Andre”, will be sentenced on September 26.
This newspaper had previously reported that Dhanraj had strangled his 29-year-old reputed wife with a bed sheet at their Parika home. The mother of three was said to have suffered abuse at the hands of Dhanraj for approximately 12 years.

Determined to end the reported verbal and physical abuse, Ram had left Dhanraj’s home with her three children four days prior to her death, and had gone to live with her relatives in Parika.
However, on April 4, 2017, Dhanraj visited the home where Ram was staying and demanded that she return home with him. She reportedly refused, and this angered him to the point where he allegedly physically assaulted her before leaving the premises.
The following morning, the woman was on her way to report the assault to the Police station when Dhanraj reportedly intercepted and forced her into his vehicle, taking her to his home.
Neighbours heard her screams as the man assaulted her in his house, but upon entering the yard, they saw him running towards the Parika backdam. Ram’s lifeless body was subsequently found in a sitting position on a chair, with a sheet knotted around her neck.