LAKERAM Bharat, 49, is now on the run after allegedly assaulting his common-law wife of eight years and torching their home following a domestic dispute on Saturday last at Lot 45 New Area, Adelphi Village, East Canje, Berbice.

According to Bharat’s reputed wife Devika ‘Joney’ Deolall, 32, they began experiencing problems six weeks ago and she left the home but returned last Sunday to ensure that Bharat didn’t dispose of the property unknowing to her.
“After I came back last week, he made it a habit of telling me that I am being unfaithful to him when he goes to work in the interior. On Saturday, he started to drink alcohol among friends and relatives in this house and I suspect that in the midst of the drinking, someone brought up a conversation about our domestic matter and after they left, he began to break up a bicycle and assault me,” she recounted.
Deolall said that after she was assaulted at around 4:00 pm, she left the yard and contacted the Reliance Police via telephone and they responded within 15 minutes. However, by that time her husband had apparently secured himself in the house and refused to respond when the police called for him.
“The police then took me with the jeep to make a formal report at the station, after that they went in search of him and as I was walking home, I saw my neighbours forming a bucket brigade and breaking the windows on the upper flat of our house to put out a fire,” she explained.

ORIGIN OF FIRE
It is believed that the suspect used fuel from motorcycle CG 4229 which he pushed into the house before starting the fire which destroyed all the articles in the concrete section of the lower flat and scorched the walls.
Among the items lost were money, jewellery, a laptop computer, a flat screen television and other household appliances.
Speaking about the ongoing domestic feud, Deolall said that one of her friends had told Bharat that she (Deolall) was involved in extra marital affairs and he went home and slapped her and she decided to remove from the home.
“That incident was before the probation officer and that matter is in court. In fact, we have to appear in court on Wednesday (tomorrow). He was charged by the police for domestic violence and I am also taking him before the court for child support,” she said.
Responding to the question why she decided to move back into a house that was in turmoil, she said: “This house was built three years ago in my name and I am entitled to half of it because we are definitely not going to get along in the future. I am finished with him, we were supposed to value the house and either he paid me for my half or I paid him for his portion. He sought an easy way out by trying to burn the property with our belongings.”

DEATH THREATS
The couple has a three-year-old daughter. Bharat operates heavy duty machinery at interior locations and spends an average of two months away from home.
“For the past three months he did not go to work and he constantly told me that anytime he catches me with another man, he is going to kill me and I know what he is capable of doing. He will make his threats into a reality once he cannot have his way. I do not have another man but now I am worried because he knows that his recent actions will lead him to the prison and he is very desperate,” she related.
When the Guyana Chronicle visited the scene, neighbours and friends were assisting Deolall in tidying the floor and discarding burnt items. According to the woman, she will restore the property to a livable condition and sell it.
At the moment, Deolall and her daughter are residing with relatives in the community. The child would not be able to attend school immediately after losing her clothing in the fire, reportedly set by her father.
Meanwhile, ‘B’ Division police are still searching for Bharat who is believed to have made his escape through the cane fields aback of his home.