Navin Kumar Baboo aspired for a better future for his family. He had left Mauritius to settle in India, hoping to find new professional opportunities there after the difficulties encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic. But his quest for renewal came to a tragic end. He was violently attacked and killed on a hill in Parsik, Belapur.
Navin Kumar Baboo, 53, and his 22-year-old son had left Mauritius to find work in the hotel industry in India. This former sommelier wanted a better future for his family. As he began his new life, misfortune struck. The Mauritian was brutally killed on Friday May 17.
That day, he told his son that he was going to meet a friend. But later in the evening, Navin Kumar Baboo was the victim of a violent attack on a hill in Parsik, Belapur. He received several stone blows to the head and did not survive this bloody attack. It was only on Saturday morning that a passerby made the macabre discovery. According to an online newspaper, the Hindustan Times, local police made three arrests: two girls aged 16 and 17, and a 20-year-old man. The latter confessed.
This tragedy distresses the victim's loved ones in Mauritius. The fifty-year-old, originally from Triolet, had two sons, the youngest still in college, while his eldest is 22 years old. “Li ti enn dimounn trankil,” explains a cousin of Navin Kumar Baboo.
Working tirelessly for the well-being of his family, the missing man was known for his sense of resourcefulness. “He worked in the hotel industry for a long time. He was a sommelier,” he says.
A job that he particularly loved. He had built a very good reputation in the field. But the COVID-19 period was very difficult for him. The hotel sector had been greatly impacted by this situation. “The pandemic was a difficult time for him. He lost his job. It had demoralized him a little,” the cousin continues. Navin then tried to pursue his career in other establishments. “He tried to find his place. He continued to other hotels, but it didn't work out. »
The idea of going to other places to work then emerged. “Depi COVID-19, li ti pe anvi al deor,” adds the relative. “He told me that he was going to India to look for work,” his cousin remembers. The latter had asked him to be careful: “Monn dir li get bien si to pe al travay deor, parski dan Lenn (India) mo pa kav dir twa kouma li unroule. Li ti dir mwa li pou al get enn kou. Linn fer so bann demars linn ale,” he said.
Waiting
He went there with his eldest son. They settled in the village of Shahbaz. Both were looking for work in the hotel industry. The last time he saw his cousin was last January. “There has been a death in the family. He came to attend, then he left,” continues the relative. But no one could have expected that just a few months after his arrival in India, he would meet such a tragic end. Three days before the tragedy, his son was able to get work in a three-star hotel. The father was still waiting for a favorable response to return to service.
Friday, the fifty-year-old went out, but did not return all night. It was only on Saturday morning that the lifeless body of Navin Kumar Baboo was found on Parsik Hill. He had received blows to the face. The police were unable to identify him. It was thanks to the motorbike he had taken that his identity could be confirmed, according to the local press.
On Sunday evening, police arrested a man named Sayyed Mustaken Khan, aged 20. He confessed. According to the Hindustan Times, the suspect and the victim were friends. The young man had introduced two girls aged 16 and 17 to the fifty-year-old. On Friday he would have joined the two girls and on the hill things went badly. There was an incident, according to the suspect, with the fifty-year-old. One of the girls came to see. He went to the spot and participated in the fatal attack on Navin Kumar Baboo with stones. They abandoned him there. The two girls were also nabbed on Monday and sent to a children's home in Bhiwandi.
For the victim's relatives, this version does not hold water. “He was not a brutal person. He was very friendly and very helpful. He would never have tried anything with those girls. This is false,” underlines a relative of the deceased. Family members traveled to India for the funeral which took place during the week.
