The Hamilton High Court will sentence next month Davesh Sharma, who faces charges of murdering his wife Ranjeeta.
As reported in this column (Indian Newslink, February 1, 2011), Ranjeeta’s burning body was found on the side of an isolated road west of Huntly, a small coalmining town, about 35 kms from Hamilton and 95 kms from Auckland on Thursday, January 20, 2011.
Sharma left for his native Fiji with their four-year-old son Akash the next day. He was later brought back to New Zealand by the Police.
Sunday Star Times reported that the key element in the case was whether the victim was still alive when she was set on fire.
“It is understood that on the afternoon of the killing, Sharma could not locate his wife. He suspected that she was cheating on him and thought she was with another man. When Ranjeeta finally came home he confronted her, a fight broke out and then, he contends, he strangled her,” the newspaper said.
According to the Report, a Crown pathologist believed that Ranjeeta was still alive when she was doused in petrol and set alight.
“It was not known whether she was conscious. However, it is understood another pathologist came to the conclusion that she was probably dead.”
