GANESH Dhanraj was on Wednesday sentenced to serve 10 years, seven months for strangling his 29-year-old wife with a bedsheet at their Parika, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) home in 2017.

Last month, Dhanraj appeared before Justice Jo-Ann Barlow at the Demerara High Court for the capital offence of murder.

However, he opted to plead guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter, which alleged that on April 5, 2017, at Parika, he unlawfully killed Dhanwantie Ram.

Attorney-at-law Ravindra Mohabir is on record for Dhanraj, while the state was represented by prosecutors Latifiah Elliot, Marisa Edwards and Simran Gajraj.

Justice Barlow, in sentencing Dhanraj on Wednesday, told him that domestic violence continues to reign prevalent in society and it cannot be condoned.

However, she gave him credit for his early guilty plea and the time spent on remand.

Justice Barlow started Dhanraj’s sentence at 24 years and deducted one-third for his early plea along with five years, five months for his time spent in pre-trial custody.
As a result, Dhanraj will only spend 10 years, seven months behind bars.

According to previous reports by this newspaper, on the morning of April 5, 2017, the body of the mother of three was found in a sitting position with a bed sheet tied around her neck.

The victim’s sister who made the gruesome discovery had told this newspaper that the woman was found kneeling on the living room floor, slumped across a chair with the sheet around her neck and a carpet covering her body.

On April 9, 2017, the police arrested Dhanraj after he was on the run for four days. He was caught around 02:00 hrs at Parika after being shot in his right arm by law enforcement officers.

Investigations had revealed that Dhanwantie, after enduring years of abuse, ended her relationship with Dhanraj. She left his house with their three children and went to live elsewhere in Parika.

Although she had tried to move on, Dhanraj continued to harass her and on the fatal day as she was on her way to make a report to the police, Dhanraj lured her into his house and allegedly killed her.

The two had been together for some 15 years.