Debe woman wants answers on husband's death in prison

Geeta Mahadeo expected to spend the day before Father's Day cooking, shopping and preparing her five children to visit their father at the Maximum Security Prison in Arouca.

Instead, she sat at her Debe home in a haze of grief, with more questions than answers about the death of her common-law husband Dhanraj Seukumar, who was found hanging in his cell at the prison on June 13.

In an interview with Newsday, Mahadeo said she got a call from the prison on the night of June 13. Seukumar, 33, and another man were charged on April 12, 2001, with the murder of a relative in Mayaro on April 4.

"They told me to get a pen and a paper and make sure I sit down comfortable. Then they give me a number to call and tell me to ask for Mr (redacted)," Mahadeo said.

When she did, the man on the end gave her a message that was as brief as it was heartwrenching.

"He said, 'Dhanraj no more.' The phone was on speaker and the children hear him too... I just start to cry and hang up because I couldn't take it."

A short while later, the man called again. He told her she would get more information from prison authorities on June 14.

But several follow-up calls on Saturday left her with no more information than she started with.

"We was supposed to go up to see him on Sunday for Father's Day. He tell me he wanted three short pants and three vests, so I was going to buy it and pack the bag to carry one time. I already went and buy the chicken, so it was just to cook and pack up the food to carry too."I say I would have cook, pack the bag and I done tell the children make sure they wake up early to go up. Whole day I sit down in my house, I ent do nothing, I don't know what to do."

She said despite Seukumar's incarceration, he remained very close to his family.

"He would call morning, noon and night. Just Tuesday he call and talk to the children, he tell them to behave and listen to me. He tell them he love them. He didn't get to talk to two of them and he tell me to tell them he love them.

"I stick with him because is 12 years we live together and we have five children, I wasn't going to just leave him in there. I used to be up and down getting anything he wanted, even though he never really ask for much because I feel like he didn't want to pressure me because I outside here with the five children."

Asked if Seukumar ever spoke about being fearful for his life, she said, "No, he never say anything like that.

"I don't know if anything happen and he just never tell me because he didn't want me to worry."

She also did not know if Seukumar was suffering from depression.

"I don't think he do that to himself because someone see the picture on Facebook (of Seukumar's body in his cell) and from the picture, he hands was tie up behind his back. How he hanging himself with his hand behind his back?

"I believe somebody or a few people do him that. Somebody hold him down, somebody else tie up he hands and somebody else hang him up."

Police: Death unclassified until autopsy

A source from the Homicide Bureau told Newsday Seukumar's death would remain as "unclassified" until an autopsy is done.

Police said 4.37 pm on June 13 officers from Arouca were on patrol when they received a report of a man found hanging in a cell at the MSP in Arouca.

When they got to the prison, they went to Block T (cell T-107) and saw Seukumar hanging from a multi-coloured bed sheet with his hands tied behind his back. He was already dead.

Police said around 3.55 pm on June 13 the prisoners of Block T were given dinner. While being locked down in their various cells, a prison officer was told of Seukumar trying to hang himself.

He tried to check through the cell window, but it was locked. He then went into the cell and found Seukumar's body.

Acting Prisons Commissioner Carlos Corrapse told Newsday he would not be able to say when the autopsy would be done.

"....that will be better directed to the Forensic Department. It's usually within a week however all things being equal.

Corraspe said prison welfare officers have been in "continuous contact" with Seukumar's relatives.

Asked whether there was surveillance at Block T, Corraspe said, "I cannot speak to the static security apparatus at the division, however, what I will say is that there were officers posted to that division. It was at the time of our evening diet being served to the inmates."

He said there are two probes into Seukumar's death – one by police and one by the prison.

"These occurrences are given the utmost priority since the Prison Service has not kept the inmate in safe custody as the warrant commands. We await the autopsy which will shed more light on this situation."