[UPDATED] Heartbreak as Bharatt’s body found

Six days of forest searches, public appeals and intense investigations came to the end the country dreaded on Thursday afternoon, when the body of Arima court clerk Andrea Bharatt was found, 11 kilometres away from where she worked.

Bharatt, 22, got into a car she thought was a taxi on King Street, Arima, last Friday afternoon, and never reached home.

Her father, Randolph Bharatt, called her phone that night and a man answered, demanding money for her safe return.

A report to the police sparked a series of searches as various protective services, hunters and other members of the public tried to find Bharatt, focusing on the forests in Sangre Grande, Toco and Manzanilla.

During police enquiries, five men were held in connection with her abduction.

Then on Thursday police said a truck driver had seen the decomposing body of a woman at around 12.20 pm at the Heights of Aripo.

Within minutes a battery of police from various units, including the Sangre Grande CID, Eastern Division Task Force and the Homicide Bureau of Investigations Region II went to the spot with hunters.

The body was at the foot of a steep precipice in a bushy area with no street lights and no visible houses on either side of the road. It was at least five kilometres  from the Eastern Main Road.

A police media release reported the body was badly decomposed.

Fire officers were called in to help retrieve the body, cautiously climbing about 20 feet down the cliff. Police at the scene speculated that Bharatt was dumped over the precipice the same day she was abducted.

About two hours after police from various units arrived in about ten vehicles, investigators brought Bharatt's father and aunt. Newsday understands her relatives recognised the clothes on the body as Andrea's.

The elder Bharatt looked dazed as he left almost half an hour later, escorted to a waiting vehicle by police, including members of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit.

Police kept reporters and onlookers at least ten feet away from where the body was found. Reporters were able to get a closer look when the body was removed, but still kept their distance as homicide investigators continued searching for clues.

An autopsy is expected to be done at the Forensic Science Centre, St James, on Friday.

Newsday spoke to one Aripo resident who said most of the people who lived in the area kept to themselves, and the road had a reputation as a "dumping ground" for dead bodies and illegal activities.

He said with no street lights or security cameras around, venturing outside late at night or early in the morning could be dangerous.

"The thing is, not a lot of people live out here, so the neighbours are few and far between. But the few people that live here have seen their fair share of things over the years.

"A lot of the guys on this side work as market vendors, so they have to leave home pretty early in the morning. Sometimes you pass here and people are getting robbed; sometimes guys come out here and hide drugs in the bush, and other times they may come across a dead body."

Another resident suggested there should be a police post nearby to deter criminals from using the road.

Newsday spoke to a hunter who was part of the search party. He said he was upset over the outcome of the search, and hoped the temporary unity shared throughout the nation was not lost.

"I'm really sad it had to end this way. I don't even know her, but I feel really emotional right now.

“But I'm also kind of relieved the family has some closure, because it isn't good to have them wondering what happened to her.

"I was just happy to come out and help however I could. I saw how the entire country kind of put aside their differences to come out and help this family, and I don't want to see that end right now."

Bharatt's disappearance sparked public outcry and calls for more legislation and public safety measures to be implemented to protect women and girls.

This story was originally published with the title "Police confirm body found in Aripo is Bharatt’s" and has been adjusted to include additional details. See original post below.

Police have confirmed that the body of a woman found over a precipice in the Heights of Aripo is that of 22-year-old Andrea Bharatt, who was reported missing last Friday.

A tweet from the police service said the body was identified by the clothing.

Bharatt, a clerk at the Arima Magistrates' Court, was last seen on January 29, when she got into a taxi in Arima.

Several units of the police service and Defence Force, as well as hunters from the area and members of the public had joined forces since Monday, searching forested areas in the east, including the Sangre Grande forest near North Eastern College, and off the Fishing Pond Main Road.

Police said the body was spotted by a man who was driving along the road in the area  looking for scrap iron.

More on this as information becomes available.