Latest update April 18th, 2025 8:12 AM
Senna pod dose claims second victim
After clinging to life for almost 24 hours, three-year-old, Aliyah Ramdeen, succumbed at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) during the wee hours of yesterday morning.
Dead: Aliyah Ramdeen
Aliyah and her five-year-old sister, Afiena Ramdeen, both of G127, Good Intent Squatting Area, were each given a dose of senna (laxative used for internal cleaning) Wednesday afternoon by their mother, Bibi Rafzia Grovesnor.
According to the children’s father, Troy Ramdeen, Grovesnor became worried when the children’s bowel movements, induced by the laxative dose, did not ease as was expected.
He disclosed that as a result, she purchased tablets to stop the persistent bowel movements.
However, by 20:00 hours Wednesday, both children began vomiting and neither was able to recover from their fate.
Around 03:00 hours Thursday Grosvenor awakened Troy and informed him that Afiena appeared to be dead. The distraught man and the woman rushed both girls to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where Afiena was pronounced dead and Aliyah was treated and transported by ambulance to the Georgetown hospital where she succumbed yesterday morning.
Grovesnor has since been taken into police custody at the Wales Police Station pending the results of post mortems slated to be conducted on both girls on Monday.
According to Troy Ramdeen, he learnt of his youngest daughter’s death some time after 07:00 hours yesterday when he visited the GPHC to check on her condition.
The man related that he was greeted with the wrapped body of his daughter that was already labelled with her name. He said that he was told the child died around 04:00 hours.
Although he was not given details of how his daughter’s condition worsened, Troy Ramdeen said that he is aware that she was transferred from the normal children’s ward to the Intensive Care Unit before she died.
He related that the child’s skin appeared to have taken on a darker than normal hue.
“A nurse right there tell me ‘boy like this child get poison because no senna pod or tablet could do this’.”
A distraught Troy Ramdeen
And there are speculations that the children may have somehow been administered a poisonous substance in some form or the other.
According to Troy Ramdeen, he has his suspicions about what could have transpired, pointing out that he does not believe his wife would have done anything wrong to cause the children’s death. He however said that he would await the outcome of the police investigations.
As part of their probe, the Police have since taken possession of the used senna pods that were used to make the laxative doses for the children as well as the tablets their mother had given to them.
Aliyah had not yet started school but Afiena, at the time of her death, was a second year student of the Sister’s Village Nursery School. She was described as a quiet child.
On learning of her demise, teachers of the school led by head teacher, Ms Rita Balliram, visited Troy Ramdeen’s modest abode to offer their condolences.
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