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Burnt woman returned to husband 'for sake of son

Ranjeeta Sharma - Source: Supplied

[TVNZ News, 26 January 2011] - The woman burnt alive in Waikato returned to her husband for the sake of their son less than a month before she was killed, it has been revealed.

Her family urged her not to go back to what was a troubled domestic situation, The New Zealand Herald reported today.

Ranjeeta Sharma, 28, was found burned to death near Huntly in Waikato last Thursday. Her husband, identified as Devesh Kumar Sharma, is being held in a police cell in Fiji after flying out of New Zealand the day after his wife was discovered.

Police launched a homicide investigation on Saturday after it was established that Ranjeeta was alive when she was set alight, and that an accelerant was used.

Devesh, also known as Daniel, was caught in hiding with his and Ranjeeta's four-year-old son in a town on Fiji's mainland at 1am yesterday morning.

The owner of the Papatoetoe house the family lived in said that Ranjeeta told him she was moving away because she was having problems with her husband, but returrned because she wanted to have a happy family.

Their son is now staying with relatives in Fiji and is said to be in good health.

ONE News has been told Devesh Sharma was caught after a tip-off from a neighbour. Locals say he had been hiding in Sigatoka for the past three days.

Police said Sharma was a "person of interest in relation to the homicide inquiry into the death of his wife", said Detective Senior Sergeant Nigel Keall, of Waikato CIB.

"Our inquiry is continuing and we are seeking further clarification from Fiji police of the circumstances surrounding the father being located," Detective Senior Sergeant Nigel Keall said.

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"Until we have had further discussions with Fiji police we are unable to add more at this stage."

Fiji's interim Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has promised to cooperate should New Zealand police wish to extradite Sharma, Radio New Zealand reported.

Sayed-Khaiyum said an extradition agreement between the two countries would be honoured if police here choose to make an application.

Police will today announce whether they will lodge a request for extradition with Crown Law and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The New Zealand Herald reported today that Devesh, a courier driver in Auckland, is the son of a Hindu high priest and was nearly deported for overstaying.

An immigration adviser told the paper that Devesh had been asked by his father to follow in his path and become a priest, but he chose not to.

Ranjeeta's maternal uncle Rohit Kishore told ONE News last night that the family was horrified at what has happened.

"We are very, very shocked. Such a thing has never happened in our family.. it's tough particularly on my sister who is the mother of the girl. It's very tough on her we're trying to stay together."

He said the couple had married around six years ago, and it was an arranged marriage. He said at first the couple had seemed happy, but later they heard the marriage was having some problems.

Fijian journalist Rachna Nath told ONE News Sharma's other relatives were also in shock.

"Ranjeeta's younger brother, who's a senior economist and a civil servant, says that preparations are now underway to accord his sister her final rites," Nath said.

A close friend of Ranjeeta said she was a lovely person who would have made a great nurse.

Nursing tutor, Sue Rosewarne, told Close Up last night that she had helped Sharma with her studies and spent time in the Sharma family home.

"I used to go home with her to support her in her studies and she was very determined she wanted to be accepted at MIT and do her Bachelor of Nursing," Rosewarne said.

"The public needs to know that she was a lovely young woman with an extreme love for her little son."

Ranjeeta is likely to be cremated in a family ceremony in her hometown in Fiji on Thursday.