A woman was found dead in her home in Koronivia, Nausori, early yesterday morning, in what was alleged to be a robbery gone wrong.

The victim, Chand Kuar, was 79. She lived alone in a double-storey concrete house inside a common driveway, just a few metres away from her younger sister.

Ms Kuar’s daughter Ranjeeta Singh was devastated. She spoke to her mother at 6:30am minutes before the incident, not knowing it would be her last.

“She had an appointment with the eye doctor at 11.30am today. It is hard to believe that she really is gone,” Ms Singh said.

“I wish it was just a bad dream and when I wake up, she would still be smiling at me.”

Ms Singh said she had numerously asked her mother to live with her, but she always wanted to live next to her sister.

“My mother was someone who was kind and always willing to help people and I just can’t believe that someone would do something like this to her.”

She could only watch on, with her husband comforting her, as Police cordoned-off the area, with her mother’s body still inside the house.

The late Chand Kuar’s daughter, Ranjeeta Singh, at Koronivia on September 14, 2023. Photo: Ronald Kumar

Witness account 

It was after 7am. Koronivia resident Praneel Kumar was waiting for his work transport along the Koronivia road, directly opposite the two sisters’ home.

He recalled seeing someone jump from the porch of Ms Kuar’s home. Mr Kumar said he immediately called his sister, and mother, who were having breakfast at their porch.

Mr Kumar and his family and other residents of the area, including Ms Kuar, share the driveway. Mr Kumar’s home is directly opposite Ms Kuar’s.

It was around 7:50am when Mr Kumar and his sister went to check on Ms Kuar. They were traumatized,

Dead is Chand Kuar, 79.

“I asked my sister to check on her (Ms Kuar) while I followed her. I didn’t go inside the house until I heard her scream and that was when I went in,” Mr Kumar said.

“I was so frightened to see someone lying there motionless because it was my first time. I tried to check if she still had a pulse so I could take her to the hospital, but it was too late.”

Mr Kumar recalled seeing Ms Kuar had bruises on her face, and blood was visible inside the house.

“I took a step back because I didn’t want to contaminate the scene. There was blood in the sitting room, but she was found in her bedroom. It was something like we see in movies.”

When the Fiji Sun team arrived at the scene after 9am, Ms Kuar’s body was still inside the house.

She was taken to the morgue after 11am.

Police response 

Divisional Police Commander East Josua Vodo said a post-mortem examination would be conducted to ascertain the cause of death.

“Police received a call and visited the scene whereby the victim a … woman was found motionless in her residence.”

Police spokesperson Ana Naisoro did not confirm whether a robbery took place.

Plea for Police intervention 

Former Koronivia advisory councillor Satish Kumar said the incident and discovery of Ms Kuar’s body were shocking.

“She was a kind, trusted and loving woman. She was always ready to help. She was someone we could always count on,” Mr Kumar said.

He added there were a lot of robberies in the area recently.

“We want a police station to be built in Koronivia. Something needs to be done before something like this happens again.”

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