The aunt and uncle of three-year-old Charran ‘Sanjay’ Sahadeo were refused bail when they appeared before Magistrate Nigel Hawke at the Blairmont Court yesterday charged with assault causing actual bodily harm.
Reports are that on Saturday, January 30 at Blairmont, Sunita Sahadeo and her reputed husband; Ragnauth Bisnauth called ‘One Foot’ assaulted Sanjay.
They both pleaded not guilty to the charge and were remanded to prison until February 9 when the case is expected to be called again for report.
Charran “Sanjay” Sahadeo who was living at Blairmont, West Bank Berbice with his aunt and her reputed husband was reportedly beaten because he did not want to rock the couple’s baby.
The aunt and uncle were arrested on Monday following an investigation by officers of the Probation and Welfare department at Fort Wellington.
Sanjay was discharged from the Fort Wellington Hospital yesterday and he, along with three of the couple’s children, has been placed in protective custody in Georgetown.
Police Prosecutor, Inspector Donna Grant-Fraser informed the court that the man had been placed on a bond for beating his stepdaughter last September.
With regards to Sanjay, Sunita had said that the child was abandoned at her door after he was reportedly beaten by his mother Babita Sahadeo and his stepfather.
However, Babita who resides in the ‘Kayman Sankar Backdam’ at Vonbetter with her reputed husband told the court that she heard about the incident on Monday after it was published in this newspaper.
She said she managed to get transportation out of the backdam on Tuesday night and
brought along her one-year-old and two-month-old children.
The woman who has four older children said her husband’s employee had encouraged her to send Sanjay to school. She said because she lives in the backdam where there is no school Sunita and Bisnauth had told her it was ok to leave him there.
But when her reputed husband took the child to their house on January 11 they were not at home and he left him with their 10-year-old son “without any scar.” After she learnt about the incident, she said “me plate a food fall out me hand; me couldn’t eat anymore.”
Wandering
Meanwhile, the couple’s 10-ten-year-old son was brought to the court to answer a charge of wandering. However, the magistrate was unable to read the charge to him because his mother was not sure if he was indeed 10 and she could not produce any document to verify his age.
He ordered that the child be kept in protective custody for the night until the correct age could be determined. Magistrate Hawke also requested “psychosocial intervention” for the boy and his family.
Sunita told the court that the child was “playing mannish” and she had sent him [along with
other siblings] to the orphanage in New Amsterdam but he escaped. He also ran away from home and told the magistrate that it was because his home does not have a television.
The child whose pants looked like they were outgrown responded to the magistrate, when asked when he last had a bath “yesterday night” [the night before].
His three younger siblings had been placed in the care of persons while his parents were in custody awaiting charges but when the officers tried to take him along as well he scooted.
He told the court that “wan aunty” gave him food on Tuesday but he did not have anything to eat yesterday and the magistrate sent someone to purchase food for him and ensured that he ate it.
The case will be called again at the Fort Wellington Court today.
