A murder investigation has been opened at the Plaine-Verte police station to shed light on the circumstances of the death of Dinesh Juttun, 27, from Cent Gaulettes, Sebastopol. He was under a kiosk in the Plaine-Verte garden on the afternoon of Wednesday March 29 when an individual doused him with gasoline. The result: he burned alive. A policeman quickly rushed to save him but to no avail. Dinesh Juttun died of his burns on the morning of March 30 at the Burns’ Unit at Victoria Hospital in Candos. His alleged murderer, Pravind Agathee, 36, a former resident of Camp Fouquereaux was arrested late in the afternoon of the same day.
In the Plaine Verte garden, a feeling of revolt reigns among a group of senior citizens. They confide: “The situation is getting worse day by day. The police and the municipality resigned in front of their responsibilities. This garden is under the control of drug addicts. We alerted the officials of the local police station several times. Syringes thrown on the floor are lying around everywhere. Worse, all the kiosks and bus shelters are permanently occupied by homeless people. These places are in a deplorable state. We invite the Lord Mayor of the city for a visual observation. »
Wednesday, March 29 shortly after 3 p.m. Constable Sohawon, standing in front of the police station facing this garden, hears screams and sees smoke rising. He grabs a fire extinguisher and rushes to the garden. He manages with the help of a volunteer to extinguish the flames that devour the body of a man.
The victim was rushed to Dr A.G. Jeetoo Hospital in Port-Louis before being transferred to Victoria Hospital, Candos. She was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Burns’ Unit and placed on artificial respiration, but she succumbed to her burns around 8:30 a.m. on Thursday March 30. Wazeer Warsally, 29 years old and living in rue Sir Edgard Laurent, Plaine-Verte, who was sitting next to Dinesh Juttun was burned on his hands. He went to Jeetoo Hospital for treatment before he could go home. The police found him in the emergency department.
Autopsy performed on Dinesh Juttun’s body by Dr Sudesh Kumar Gungadin, Chief of Police Forensic Department at Dr Jeetoo Hospital Mortuary attributed the death to excessive burns.
Pravind Agathee, 36 years old and former resident of Camp Fouquereaux, presumed murderer of Dinesh Juttun, was apprehended on the afternoon of March 30 by men from the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Metropolitan Police of the North Division. He was taken into custody. This Friday, March 31, he will be brought before the Port-Louis court on a provisional charge of assassination.
