Dad sees son’s body
Afather of two children is still coming to terms with the loss of his only son after seeing his body at the old Mobil Service Station at Topline, in Lautoka yesterday.
Babu Suresh Sharma, who was attending the morning service at the Goodnews Church of Fiji just across from the service station, was unaware that his son, Hasneel Sharma, 22, was lying dead across the road from him.
Mr Sharma said his son, who is the eldest of two children, left home around 2am yesterday on his way to arrange some work for his neighbour, a taxi driver.
His wife, Anjina Devi, was still in a state of shock when the Fiji Sun team visited her family home in Velovelo, Lautoka.
“He came here this morning (yesterday morning) about 12.30, had his shower, had dinner and told my wife that he was going to our neighbour, a taxi driver to arrange one job for, I’m not sure whether he was telling the truth or not. He left home about 1.54am,” Mr Sharma said.
“Towards the morning around six or seven the taxi driver returned and I asked him about my son and he said ‘I dropped him at one place in Banaras’.
“I do not know anyone in Banaras who would make him go there. First time for me to hear that he went to Banaras.” Mr Sharma said he was in church for almost two hours and had no idea his son was lying dead a few metres away.
“I was in church from 8.30am to 10am. Around 10.20 am as soon as I came out, a van driver told me my son was lying at the service station opposite our church, dead,” he said
“I ran to check him. His eyes were open so I thought he might be asleep. When I saw him, his neck was swollen, his t-shirt was torn, his pair of socks was torn and his shoes were missing. His legs were folded and his body was still fresh.”
Ms Devi said she could not imagine losing her son this early.
“I lost my only son,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
When she went to identify her son’s body, Ms Devi said she noticed a pair of shoes near her son’s body which did not belong to him.
Lautoka Police officers were at the scene yesterday morning.
They have begun Investigations and foul play has not been ruled out.