Mahima Naomi Gungah, a 19-year-old mother of a four-year-old girl, met a tragic end on Thursday evening, March 17. An argument with her maternal grandfather, Dhananjaye Toolooa, 70, turned tragic at the latter’s home in Medina Mask Camp. During a confrontation between the little girl and her grandfather, the latter stabbed her in the chest. This stabbed her through the heart. The autopsy performed by Dr Sudesh Kumar Gungadin, head of the forensic department of the police, on Friday morning, 18 March, revealed that the girl was dead.
Dhananjaye Toolooa, appeared before the Flacq court on Friday, March 18. He is facing a provisional charge of murder. The septuagenarian was arrested shortly after committing the crime by police officers at the Camp de Masque police station. He spent his first night at the Bell-Mare police station. Dhananjaye Toolooa was taken back to the police cell.
The tragedy occurred at around 8.40pm on Thursday evening, 17 March, and shook the entire village of Camp de Masque Pavé. Mahima Naomi Gungah had a difficult childhood. At the age of 14, she became pregnant. This teenager was orphaned of both her father and mother. Her mother also had a tragic death. She drowned. The teenager was then taken in by her paternal grandparents.
The teenager is civilly married to a man from whom she was separated. The father of her child came to visit his daughter from time to time. For the past two weeks, the victim has been living with Hans Michel Maroudan, a 21-year-old resident of Dubreuil. They lived under the same roof as her paternal grandfather. The two young people had only known each other for six months.
In a statement made at the police station in Camp de Masque on the evening of Thursday 17 March, Hans Maroudan recounted the circumstances that led to this tragedy. They were in their room in this EDC house separated by a door when they heard Dhananjaye Toolooa cursing at him. It was then that his girlfriend, he says, went out to reprimand him. The grandfather and granddaughter came face to face and continued to argue. The septuagenarian, who was holding a kitchen knife in his hand, hit his granddaughter hard on the chest.
Naomi Gungah, who was bleeding profusely, collapsed to the ground almost immediately. Dhananjaye Toolooa had to leave her room with the knife in her hand. Police officers from the Masque Camp Police Station, led by Inspector Ramkissoon, arrived at the scene as did an ambulance from the Emergency Medical Service, the doctor on board was unfortunately to pronounce the victim dead.
The body was taken to the morgue of the Dr A.G. Jeetoo Hospital, Port Louis for an autopsy. The autopsy was carried out by Dr Gungadin.
The suspect was arrested by Inspector Appadoo of the Criminal Investigation Division and taken to the Brisée-Verdière office for questioning under the supervision of Assistant Superintendent of Police Babajee. The knife he used to fatally assault his baby daughter was seized as evidence. Four witnesses were heard in connection with the case, Dhananjaye Toolooa’s wife, son, daughter-in-law and the victim’s partner.
