Corentyne man who attempted to escape to the US charged with attempted murder

Ganesh Sewcharran, a 27-year-old taxi driver was charged with attempted murder on Friday when he appeared at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

Sewcharran of Miss Phoebe, Port Mourant, Corentyne Berbice was not required to enter a plea to the charge which states that he set his wife Sandrama Raju on fire on September 13, 2021.

Sewcharran appeared before Magistrate Clive Nurse and was remanded to prison until October 06, 2021.

Meanwhile, Raju sustained severe burns to 98 per cent of her body and remains in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the New Amsterdam Hospital.

Police reported that the couple were engaged in an argument during which Raju threw kerosene on her body. It is alleged that Sewcharran took a lighter and lit the bottom of her dress.

The woman managed to extinguish the fire by rolling on the ground; by that time, however, she received burns all over her body.

After the incident, Sewcharran attempted to flee the country and booked a flight to the United States of America and managed to board an American Airlines at 17:26hrs on Tuesday, September 14.

Relatives alerted the police to the escape bid and the authorities in the US were contacted; Crime Chief Wendell Blannum in a statement said that once Sewcharran landed in the U.S, he was denied entry and sent back on a flight to Guyana where he was arrested and placed in custody.

Relatives have since come forward and alleged that Raju suffered years of abuse at the hands of her husband.