Sheema Mangar murder …Parents unhappy at lack of progress in case


Sheema Mangar’s parents say that they are dissatisfied with how the police are conducting the investigation of her murder, almost a month after.

Sheema Mangar

During a recent interview with Stabroek News, an emotional Lalbachan Mangar and Radica Thakoor said that they struggled to give their daughter a good life only to have her snatched away.

They said that the police have been providing very little information on the investigation and the couple issued a plea to the police to work harder to find those responsible for the death.

When Thakoor spoke with this newspaper, she said that 24 days had passed since the incident and all the police have said to her was that they were still working. “I went to Brickdam and the police tell me how they got the right people and the car but they don’t have witness. We are not satisfied with this police investigation,” the woman said sadly.

The woman said that she was told that the fabric that was found on the car that reportedly hit Sheema is at a lab overseas. She added that it appears as though this is the only clue that the police are working on.

When this newspaper had spoken to Crime Chief Seelall Persaud about the tests, he said that the process was not something that could be done overnight. He added that DNA testing may also have to be done.

Thakoor urged the ranks to return to the scene and do “diligent investigations” as somebody must have seen something that night that could lead to the perpetrators.

Thakoor said that she still believes that her daughter’s Blackberry cell phone was the target of the perpetrators. Asked why her daughter would risk her life to retrieve the instrument, she opined that she probably expected the car to stop when she ran in front of it as by this time she had already raised an alarm.

The death, the couple said, has changed their life dramatically. They told this newspaper that their younger child, who is 14 years old, has become very withdrawn. He and Sheema, Thakoor said, were very close and spent a lot of time together.

Lalbachan added that the incident highlighted the need for employers to provide transportation for overtime workers and for government to address the security situation in the country. The parents called for cameras to be placed at every street light to help detect criminal activities.

“God has given us faith but this is not easy,” Lalbachan said, adding that his daughter’s death shows that nobody is safe and young people are not free to walk the streets without being robbed of their possessions.

The couple said they will not give up. While reflecting on his struggles to educate Sheema, Lalbachan, fighting back tears, said, “ah wuk hard everyday to ensure ends meet.”

Sheema, 20, was robbed of her mobile phone some time after 6 pm on September 10 as she waited for transportation on North Road, close to Camp Street.

The young woman chased the perpetrator, who jumped into a car and ran her down when she tried to stop him from fleeing. The woman was dragged from the Bedford Methodist Church at Camp Street and North Road to the intersection of Camp and Church streets. She died hours later at the St Joseph Mercy Hospital from a ruptured spleen, which was one of the many injuries she sustained.

Acting on information, police had held a suspect and detained his car. However several days later, the man was released. The young woman who was studying to become an accountant was killed one month before her 21st birthday.