Anil Babajee, a resident of Camp Benoit, Petite Rivière, who was due to celebrate his 37th birthday on the 25th of this month, lost his life in a bloody brawl. The hairdresser’s body was discovered on an abandoned plot of land in La Tour Koenig, Pointe aux Sables on the evening of Tuesday October 10. In the wake of this case, the first suspect has been arrested. He is Arosh Kumar Gopaul, a 41-year-old driver’s helper living in one of the NHDC’s apartments, La Tour Koenig. The suspect has just been released after serving a one-year prison sentence for indecent assault. The autopsy performed on Anil Babajee’s body attributed his death to compression of the neck.
This macabre discovery was made at around 9pm on the evening of Tuesday October 10. Immediately after the police were alerted, officers from La Tour Koenig police station were called to the scene. They were joined by officers from the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Metropolitan Police’s Southern Division. Superintendent of Police Shyam Bansoodep, in charge of this division, was also there, along with other officers.
The site where the body was found was secured, while forensic technicians examined the scene to collect clues and take samples. Dr Prem Chamane, Principal Police Medical Officer, was dispatched to La Tour Koenig to carry out an initial examination of the body before it was transported to the morgue of the Dr A.G.Jeetoo Hospital, Port-Louis, for an autopsy. Investigators recovered a black Samsung cell phone from the crime scene.
The men of Assistant Superintendent of Police Kailash Dussoye of the CID, shortly after arriving at the scene of the crime, spotted three individuals in the vicinity who were known to the police. They were standing near an abandoned mattress. They were taken to the local police station for questioning. Only Arosh Kumar Gopaul was arrested. He was detained at Pope Hennessy police station on the orders of Superintendent of Police Vikash Seebaruth, head of the Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT). On Wednesday October 11, he was brought before the Bambous court on a provisional charge of murder. He was kept in a police cell.
The MCIT, which has taken over the investigation, hopes to solve the case. To date, Arosh Kumar Gopaul has denied any involvement in the case. However, a witness claims to have seen him arguing with the victim the day before her body was discovered.
The autopsy performed on Anil Babajee’s body on the morning of Wednesday October 11th by Dr Chamane, attributed the cause of death to a compression of the neck.
