By Shuntel Glasgow
The family of Bibi Naseefa Baksh, the woman who was beaten to death early Sunday morning during an argument with her partner, said that she contacted them last Wednesday to rescue her from the hands of her abusive partner.
Twenty-nine year-old Shivnand Henry, who was wanted by police in relation to the murder was arrested yesterday morning.
Bibi Kapiza Baksh, the sister of the deceased, told Stabroek News yesterday that last Wednesday her sister phoned her and asked that she come and get her from the home at Uitvlugt, West Coast Demerara. She added that her sister would usually complain about how abusive Henry was. Kapiza further explained that she was hesitant to remove her sister at the time since she was trying to avoid a conflict with Henry. Naseefa promised her sister to return a call when Henry was not around to make the arrangements to come get her. According to the sister, that was the last time she spoke with Naseefa and she didn’t receive the call as promised.
Kapiza said on Sunday morning her son called and informed her about the severe beating her sister suffered. She explained that at that time it was unclear whether her sister was alive or dead since they were two villages apart. Calls to her sister’s phone went unanswered that day. The son called again to inform them about Naseefa’s death. The woman explained that she is the youngest among her siblings and Naseefa would relate to her everything that was happening in her relationship. They had plans to remove her from Henry’s home and she and her daughter would be offered accommodation at Kapiza’s house. These plans were shattered when she heard about her sister’s death.
According to Kapiza, when she and her siblings arrived at Uitvlugt where Naseefa, her 12 year-old daughter, Henry and his mother had lived, neighbours related to her what transpired. She stated that as they entered the yard, Henry’s siblings were enraged and started acting inappropriately towards them in an effort to deny them from seeing Naseefa’s body, which was still at her residence while the family awaited the arrival of the police. Nevertheless, they were able to go into the home, where they saw Naseefa’s corpse on a bed with a head wound and a sheet partially wrapped around her.
Henry allegedly kicked Naseefa several times accompanied with lashes about her body from a piece of wood.
Police said the incident occurred on Sunday morning between 0430 hours and 0530 hours when an argument ensued while the two were imbibing. It later turned deadly. According to the police report, Henry began to beat Naseefa.
He kicked her down the wooden stairs and dragged her onto the road, where he dealt her several kicks as well as lashes about her body with a piece of wood. Afterwards, the police were told, Henry and the victim’s 12-year-old daughter assisted Baksh back into the house. The woman was taken to her room and helped onto the bed. A short while later, she was observed to be motionless. Henry then left the home. The 12 year-old daughter raised an alarm and public-spirited residents informed the police.
On arrival, the police said, they observed the woman lying motionless with what appeared to be abrasions on her forehead, shoulder, arms and knees. She was taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where she was pronounced dead by a doctor.
The scene was processed and photographed by investigators. Baksh’s body is at the Ezekiel Funeral Home, awaiting a post-mortem examination.
