Berbice woman takes ‘deadly’ drink
* hubby survives suicide attempt
By Clifford Stanley

Dr. Vivekanand Brijmohan, a forensic pathologist in the Berbice district, said the suicide rate among Hindus in Guyana is “alarming.” In one three-year period in Berbice, there were 197 suicides, 160 of them Indian males, mainly Hindus.

Husband chops wife to death  cop kills lover  Teen-forbidden love affair.  murder/suicide

Her 21-year-old husband, whose actions precipitated her impulsive act, was reported to be in stable condition at a city hospital yesterday afternoon.

The tragic events, reminiscent of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, occurred at Lot 547 Referendum City, Bath Settlement around 19:30 hours on Saturday night last, the apparent result of a tiff between the young couple.

Dead is 17-year-old Padmini Gobin, formerly of Unity, East Coast Demerara.

Her husband now widower, Vishal Gobin, popularly known as “Basha”, is said to be recovering steadily.

Relatives said yesterday they were trying desperately to keep news of the death of his wife away from Gobin for as long as they possibly can.

Mrs. Dhanwantie Gobin, mother of Vishal and mother-in-law of the dead housewife, told Chronicle that the couple was married “only recently” and had been living at her residence.

She tearfully recalled that the heartrending and totally unexpected chain of events began around 19:00 hrs, when she had cause to chide her son and daughter-in-law for quarreling with each other. Having done that, she left them and went upstairs to complete her chores.

Mother Gobin said she was alarmed shortly after by a commotion downstairs.

She ran down and saw her son lying on the ground convulsing with his arms and legs thrashing wildly.

Another relative who had reached Gobin before his mother did and was restraining him, shouted to her that Vishal had just drunk poison and pointed to a bottle which he had wrested from the youngster and placed some feet away.

Mrs. Gobin said it was while herself and other family members were trying desperately to resuscitate the younger Gobin that his wife picked up the bottle unnoticed and drank the remainder of the poisonous substance.

They were horrified when Gobin’s wife collapsed.

Frantic, they rushed the young couple to Fort Wellington Hospital where Padmini was eventually pronounced dead. Vishal was taken to a private hospital in Georgetown.

Up to late yesterday Dhanwantie Gobin was still in a state of shock and grief and pondering the reasons for the attempted suicide of her son and the suicide of her daughter-in-law.

“I don’t know why. I don’t know why they did this. Padmini was like a daughter to me. Oh I wish I could see them hugging up each other and coming through the gate again,” she sobbed as relatives and friends tried to comfort her.

Padmini Gobin was one of three children of Bisham and Parvatti Outar of Unity, East Coast Demerara.

Vishal Gobin earned his income as a cash crop farmer while they lived at his mother’s home.

Relatives said the couple was married in April and appeared to be “fairly happy together.”

“They did not have any children as yet, but they loved each other. Apart from the usual occasional row they were almost inseparable,” a relative said.

“She thought he was going to die and she could not bear to live without him so she drank the remainder of the poison to get back together with him,” said one neighbour. “She need not have died.”

Relatives, neighbours and friends alike were savagely critical of the level of health services available at Fort Wellington Hospital, where there is only one doctor on staff.

Padmini Gobin, who appeared to be dead, was taken there at 20:10 hours. But up to 22:00 hours she could not be certified as dead because the two Nurses on duty reportedly were unable to locate the doctor whose confirmation was needed.

A relative said that at one point he was convinced he saw movement in her toes.

Two hours afterwards they on their own initiative mobilized the ambulance belonging to GUYSUCO and also got a Medex attached to GUYSUCO to accompany them to Georgetown with the motionless young girl being certified as dead on arrival at the Georgetown Hospital around 01:00 hours yesterday.

Bisham Outar, the dead girl’s father, told Chronicle that his family has been going through some very distressing and traumatic times over the past few weeks.

He said he lost his son and Padmini’s only brother to illness a little over three weeks ago. “This is the second of my three children that have died within three weeks,” he said.

He claimed it was also his second ordeal arising out of a shortage of doctors at Fort Wellington Hospital.

At that hospital three weeks ago, like on Saturday night, there was no doctor to certify his son, also named Vishal, who appeared to be dead as actually dead.

They were forced to approach a private doctor who consented to confirmation of the death of the young man.

West Berbice Police were up to yesterday afternoon investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of the young housewife.

The body of the 17-year-old woman is currently at the Georgetown Hospital awaiting a post mortem examination.