Reopened Investigation into the Death of Soopramanien Kistnen - Simla Kistnen: 'I Had Lost Hope...'
Five years after her husband was found burned in a sugar cane field, Simla Kistnen feels a renewed sense of hope with the announcement of the reopening of the investigation.
The haunting images of her husband's charred body never leave her mind. On October 18, 2020, the body of Soopramanien Kistnen, a 55-year-old former MSM agent, was discovered in a field in Telfair, Moka. Two days prior, affectionately known as "Kaya" by his wife, he had disappeared.
On Friday, October 10, 2025, almost exactly five years after the tragedy, Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam announced that the police investigation would be reopened in November 2025. For Simla Kistnen, this news brings immense relief and rekindles hope after years of waiting and uncertainty. "Recently, I had lost hope, but now I have regained a little hope that we will find the truth," she confides to Le Dimanche/L’Hebdo.
In the family home, the absence of "Kaya" is felt every day. "It is not easy to lose a husband; my husband was a pillar in my home," says Simla Kistnen. This mother of the family thinks about her husband daily; they met in 1993 and married in 2002 after a nine-year relationship. "I have known him for 27 years. A person like him could not have committed suicide," she asserts.
The core of the tragedy lies in the fact that initially, the police considered Soopramanien Kistnen's death a suicide—an assertion Simla Kistnen has never accepted. "I know my husband; it is impossible for him to have committed suicide," she repeats with conviction. She credits her lawyers for keeping the case alive, as she believes it would have been dismissed as a mere suicide otherwise.
The case took a turn following shocking revelations and the establishment of a judicial inquiry alongside the police investigation. Nearly five years later, the case remains unsolved.
In response to a Private Notice Question from opposition leader Joe Lesjongard regarding reported assault cases since January 2025 and unresolved cases, Navin Ramgoolam was emphatic in Parliament on Friday: Soopramanien Kistnen's death was neither accidental nor self-inflicted; it was a murder. "He was indeed murdered. The government will not allow the murderer to rest undisturbed in their beds," the Prime Minister asserted.
This official acknowledgment resonates as a victory for Simla Kistnen, despite her lingering bitterness. "To this day, no police have come to tell me frankly that it was a 'murder,'" she laments. It was through the media that she learned of statements from high-ranking police officials confirming that her husband's death involved foul play.
What haunts Simla Kistnen, beyond the images of the tragedy, is the question of why. Why such a targeted act against her husband? Unanswered questions pile up: "Why did they kill him? There were problems, but he was always finding solutions." To her, those who murdered her husband did not consider the consequences of their actions.
The past five years, filled with police investigations, judicial inquiries, and numerous trips between courts and police headquarters, have been exhausting. "Next week marks five years... I will wait for justice until I find my husband's murderer," says Simla Kistnen.
Today, rejuvenated by the Prime Minister's announcement, she calls for the investigation to be expedited. "The investigation needs to be accelerated; five years have passed." She expresses gratitude to her loved ones for their support during this never-ending ordeal.
When contacted on Saturday, October 11, regarding the reopening of the investigation, police headquarters, through their communication unit, refrained from commenting at this time. According to our sources, the team led by former Superintendent of Police Daniel Monvoisin has been collaborating with Scotland Yard for some time now, alongside the ongoing investigations by the Major Crime Investigation Team.
For Simla Kistnen, hope is finally reborn. After five years of judicial wandering, the truth about "Kaya's" death could finally come to light.
