The body of Darsen Chellen, aged 31, of Clairfonds No. 1, Phoenix, was found at the junction of Railway and Belle Terre Road in Highlands on the evening of Monday 14 March. The victim had a deep laceration to his neck, which was attributed as the cause of his death at post mortem. He also had injuries to his head and right thigh.
In the wake of this case, two suspects were arrested and brought before the Curepipe Magistrate’s Court on a provisional charge of murder on Tuesday morning, 15 March. They include Owen Kerwin Kistnen, a 23-year-old bank employee and Nawshad Ali Soogun, a 46-year-old taxi driver, both of Phoenix. The police traced the case to Owen Kistnen after a resident of Beau-Bassin reported seeing a body being thrown onto the road from a blue Toyota car.
This macabre discovery was brought to the attention of the police after being alerted by a witness. It was around 10:40 pm when a team of police officers from the Phoenix Police Station, led by Sergeant Burkatally, went to the junction of Railway and Belle-Terre Road, Phoenix. This was after a 23-year-old Beaubassin man working at the Mauritius Port Authority reported seeing a body being thrown from a car, which then turned onto Railway Road and continued on its way.
All the police machinery was set in motion. Superintendent of Police, Gokhool then had to instruct the investigators of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Central DDivision led by Superintendent of Police, Surnam to check the number plate of this car provided by this witness in the database of the National Transport Authority. This was traced to Owen Kistnen, a resident of Clairfonds No. 3, Phoenix.
Meanwhile, several police officers, including Chief Inspector Boolaky, Inspector Teelhawood and Inspector Ramburn of the CID, men from the Field Intelligence Office and those from the Emergency Response Service descended on the crime ‘scene’. Forensic technicians were sent to the scene to collect evidence. The head of the police forensic department, Dr Sudesh Kumar Gungadin, examined the body at the scene before issuing instructions to transport the body to the mortuary. The autopsy of Darsen Chellen at the Victoria Hospital mortuary in Candos took place during the day on Tuesday 15 March, and the death was attributed to a laceration to the neck.
Following the arrest of Owen Kistnen, CID investigators have arrested Nawshad Soogun in connection with the case. Both men have already been questioned about the gruesome discovery. Owen Kistnen has denied any involvement in the man’s death. He said he had hit the victim, who was already on the road, on the evening of Tuesday 14 March.
For his part, Nawshad Soogun told investigators that he had simply slapped the victim twice following an argument at Clairfonds No. 1 but said he did not know how the victim sustained the laceration and other injuries.
