Balkrishna Luchumaya, 90 years old, was killed in his fabric store on Brabant Street, Port-Louis on Tuesday afternoon, April 25. It was his wife who made the macabre discovery. As soon as the police were alerted, a team of officers from the Central Barracks Police Station, the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Metropolitan Police of the Southern Division, and the Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT) went to the scene of the crime. All indications are that the motive for this crime is theft. After forensic technicians examined the scene and Dr. Sudesh Kumar Gungadin, head of the forensic department of the police conducted an initial examination of the body, it was subsequently transported to the morgue of the Dr. A.G. Jeetoo Hospital, Port Louis for an autopsy. The autopsy attributed the cause of death to asphyxia due to compression of the neck.
It was around 14 hours that the inert body of Balkrishna Luchumaya was discovered on the ground in his store. It is his wife who had come to bring him his tea who found him. The couple lives just behind their store. Tetanized in front of this frightful scene, this woman had to alert the police immediately afterwards. An ambulance of the Service d’Aide Médicale d’Urgence was requested at this store of the street Brabant. The doctor on board, who noticed the death of the victim and suspecting a case of foul play, referred the case to the police.
After the police officers of Central Barracks Police Station, led by Inspector Ram and those of CID led by Superintendent of Police, Aniff Thug and Chief Inspector Chandrana Ragavoodoo arrived on the scene the police machinery was put in place for the case of alleged homicide. The MCIT men headed by Inspector Rishi Jugoo also went to Brabant Street to assist their colleagues. An inventory done on the spot by his wife confirmed that money and jewelry of her husband were stolen.
The autopsy on the body of this nonagenarian by Dr. Gungadin, was to effectively confirm that he was the victim of a malicious act. He attributed the cause of death of this man to asphyxiation due to compression of the neck.
A sniffer dog was also taken to the store in an effort to lead investigators to a lead. Elements of the Field Intelligence Office were also dispatched to the area in an effort to gather as much information as possible to help track down the alleged perpetrator of this crime.
