She had left the marital roof for five months to return to live with her mother in 9th Mile, Triolet. Swapna Ibrahim Dawood, 32, née Mahadnac, had decided to do so because of marital problems. This resident of Route Royale, Lower Vale, who had been missing since Tuesday October 3, was found dead in a bush at Chemin La Salette, Vale , yesterday. Her husband, Burkatally Ibrahim Dawood, a 37-year-old security guard, was arrested by members of Grand-Baie’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID). The Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT) of Port-Louis took over the investigation. The husband confessed, telling MCIT investigators that he had argued with his wife and, in a moment of anger, strangled her.
This macabre discovery was made by elements of the Field Intelligence Office (FIO) of the northern division. Swapna Ibrahim Dawood’s lifeless, decomposing body lay in a bush. Police officers from the Grand Baie police station were immediately alerted and rushed to the scene. The area was secured before other investigators arrived on the scene. Officers from the Scene Of Crime Office (Soco) and the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) examined the scene, collected evidence and took samples before the body was moved. An examination of the body by Dr. Sheila Jankee-Parsad, Principal Police Medical Officer, concluded that it had been murdered.
Swapna Ibrahim Dawood’s disappearance had been reported by his sister, Smita Mahadnac, 33, who lives in Pointe aux Piments. She had reported her sister’s marital problems. That’s why, she pointed out, her sister had moved back to 9th Mile, Triolet. When her sister was last seen, she was wearing a white polo shirt, navy blue denim pants and a pair of grey shoes.
Swapna Ibrahim Dawood had been married civilly and religiously (nikah) for fourteen years and was the mother of three children, including a 10-year-old daughter and two sons aged 4 and 13 respectively.
Her sister Smita, in a broken voice, confided that her sister was a victim of domestic violence. She worked as a surface technician at the Vale government school for a private company.
The thirty-year-old’s body was found under a tree in a bush on Chemin de La Salette, on the way out of Grand Baie towards Vale. A handbag containing the victim’s personal effects was recovered from the spot.
After an initial examination of the body was carried out on site, Swapna Ibrahim Dawood’s body was transported to the morgue of the Dr A.G. Jeetoo Hospital, Port-Louis. Jeetoo Hospital, Port-Louis for autopsy. The autopsy attributed Swapna Ibrahim Dawood’s death to asphyxia caused by suffocation.
Burkatally Ibrahim Dawood was taken to the MCIT office at Casernes Centrales for questioning. His mother, Bibi Carima Ibrahim Dawood, 61, had reported him missing since 7 a.m. on the morning of October 3.
