THE horrific murder of a 16-year-old schoolgirl is a chilling reminder of the brutal beasts that prowl in society and the compelling need for communities not to ignore the danger signs. It has become clear from all accounts so far that Neesa Lalita Gopaul was in a living hell for quite some time before she was brutally killed and her headless corpse stuffed into a suitcase and dumped in a remote creek.
It seems that she was subjected to serious sexual and other abuses, including being forced into taking drugs and what is alarming is that her pleas for help apparently went almost unheeded.
She lived in the kind of small community where the persistent abuse she had to endure in her home could hardly have gone unnoticed.
Neesa’s grandmother said that since the death of the girl’s father last year, she started to become troubled and often complained about her ‘stepfather’, who moved into the home with her mother two weeks following the death of her father.
The grandmother said Neesa disapproved of her mother’s relationship with the man and they often quarreled since the property was left to her by her late father and she wanted the man out of the house.
Relatives claimed the stepfather often ill-treated the teenager and she had even asked them to take her and her sister to live with them.
These are chilling revelations and it is puzzling that her relatives and others did not act more forcefully, including by urging the police and other authorities, to rescue Neesa from this continuing nightmare.
Were the relevant personnel of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security aware of the child’s situation and if they did what action was taken?
Were the police aware of the allegations of the abuse of the child and if they did, what action did they take in accordance with the law to bring the abuser to justice?
And, was the school which Neesa attended aware of Neesa’s plight?
These are among the questions that have arisen in the wake of this dastardly act but Neesa’s death is also a grim warning that a comprehensive approach is needed to addressing victims caught in such webs of despair.
Communities have to be more caring and step in when needed to help the helpless.