‘Our sole breadwinner is gone’: Family mourns Labasa man found dead

Two days after Shayal Nitika Nand reported her husband missing to Police, his body was found floating in the Qawa River in Labasa yesterday.

The distraught mother of two said her husband, Ashneel Kumar, 37, of Urata, Bulileka, failed to return home after attending a birthday party in their area last Saturday.

“My husband went on foot to a friend’s daughter’s birthday party on Saturday. He was in a jovial mood after visitors who were supposed to come to our place cancelled their trip,” Ms Nand said.

“Losing our breadwinner will financially affect us and impact the education and upbringing of our children,” she said.

“He was a loving, caring, humble, hardworking and family-orientated person.”

Mr Kumar was employed at the Ramada Encore Hotel in Labasa.

Ms Nand said she called her husband around 2am on Sunday, but there was no response. She later lodged a missing person’s report after he failed to return home by 6.45am.

She said an iTaukei friend visited later that day to inform the family that a pair of flip-flops and an umbrella had been found at the Bulileka swinging bridge.

“Villagers came to our house to inform us that another pair of flip-flops was stuck on one of the branches in the river,” she said.

“He was a competent swimmer. The currents were really strong that day, which could have pushed my husband into the Qawa River.”

Mr Kumar was originally from Ba and had been living with his in-laws in Labasa after their marriage nine years ago.

“I am heartbroken and don’t know what to do next because our financial situation is not stable and I am not employed,” Ms Nand said.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Wame Bautolu confirmed that Police retrieved the body from the Qawa River and transported it to the Labasa Hospital morgue.

He said Mr Kumar was last seen wearing a black jacket and black shorts, and investigations were continuing.

The funeral arrangements will be finalised after the post-mortem.