Waikato police focus on Sharma's son

Diwesh Sharma (left) and Ranjeeta Sharma (far right) with family. Photo / Supplied

Waikato police say they are focusing on the welfare of motherless four-year-old Akash Sharma, while they decide whether to extradite his father back to New Zealand from Fiji following the gruesome death of his wife, found burned to death last week.

The man, identified by media as Davesh Kumar Sharma, fled to Fiji with his son on Friday, the day after the body of his wife, Ranjeeta Sharma, 28, was found burning on a road near Huntly in Waikato.

Mr Sharma, known to his friends as Daniel, was found by Fijian police yesterday and is now in custody and has been questioned by authorities.

He has not yet been officially named by police.

His son is staying with relatives in Fiji and is in good health.

Detective Senior Sergeant Nigel Keall, of Waikato CIB, said today that officers who had flown to Fiji would be concentrating on talking to the man and establishing the ongoing care and protection of the couple's child.

"Our officers will be looking at assisting with the assessment and advice on the care and protection of that child, working with the New Zealand High Commission in Fiji who are liaising with Fijian authorities.

"The other focus of the team will be speaking to the boy's father. It's still too early to tell what processes will be undertaken once the investigation team has spoken to him."

The investigation team's activities, including any return of the husband to New Zealand, would be dictated by these processes.

The team had received full cooperation from Fijian authorities and members of the public, which had allowed the investigation to make quick progress, Mr Keall said.

Fiji's interim Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum said an extradition agreement between the two countries would be honoured if New Zealand police chose to make an application, Radio NZ reported.

Mr Keall said extradition could be an option, but police would not be making any decisions until they had spoken to Mr Sharma.

"As far as time frames go, that will depend on what process we choose to embark on," he said.

Mr Keall would not comment on what basis Mr Sharma was being held, but added the investigation was continuing both in south Auckland and Waikato.

Mr Sharma was found on the south coast of Fiji's main island Viti Levu at 1am yesterday following a neighbour's tip-off. Locals said he had been hiding in Sigatoka for three days.

Police have said Mrs Sharma was alive when an accelerant was poured over her and set alight last Thursday.

Mrs Sharma's maternal uncle, Rohit Kishore, said that the family was horrified at what happened.

"We are very, very shocked. Such a thing has never happened in our family. It's tough, particularly on my sister who is the mother of the girl. It's very tough on her; we're trying to stay together."

He said the couple married about six years ago. At first, they seemed happy, but later the arranged marriage was having problems, Mr Kishore said.

Mrs Sharma, a nurse who worked at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital, left the couple's Manurewa home after complaining of being assaulted by her husband.

But she returned to the family home just a month before her death for the sake of her son even though her family urged her not to, the New Zealand Herald reported today.

Her body was likely to be taken to her hometown in Fiji for a family ceremony.

- NZPA