A high-profile case alleging years of systematic abuse, captivity and torture of a 42-year-old domestic worker in southern Trinidad is set for a critical court hearing on Monday, with three defendants – a local businesswoman, her 18-year-old son and a third accused man – scheduled to answer a raft of criminal charges before the Siparia Magistrates’ Court.
The three accused have been identified as Fareeda Balgobin, her adult son Joshua Benny, and Rohit Sitahal. All charges stem from alleged offenses that investigators say occurred between June 2019 and April 11, 2026, according to official statements from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS).
The victim, named by police sources as Sabita Basdeo, a mother of two, managed to escape her captors on April 11 and made her way directly to the Barrackpore Police Station to file an official report. When she arrived, officers observed visible, fresh injuries across her face and hands, which she told investigators were the result of prolonged abuse at the hands of the three accused. Basdeo told detectives she had been held against her will, forced to work unpaid domestic labor, and repeatedly tortured at a residential property in Penal. Her allegations include being beaten, burned with hot objects, and having her head slammed repeatedly into walls; she also claims that the accused threatened to kill her if she ever attempted to escape. Captivity is alleged to have been enforced continuously from September 2025 up to her escape in April.
Official charge documents show Balgobin faces the most severe and extensive list of charges, including one count of kidnapping, one count of false imprisonment, one count of throwing a noxious substance, two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm, one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, one count of choking, and three additional related criminal offenses. Benny faces five charges: one count of kidnapping, one count of throwing a noxious substance, two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm, and one additional related charge. Sitahal is facing four charges: one count of throwing a noxious substance, two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm, and one additional related charge.
Following Basdeo’s report, the TTPS launched a full criminal investigation, which was assigned to PC Lee Lum and overseen by a team of senior law enforcement officials including Senior Superintendent Simon, W/Supt Bridgelal, ASP Chulhan, Insp Ramdial, Insp Nandlal and Insp Maharaj. Legal guidance for the investigation was provided by ASP Phillip, and formal charging instructions were issued on June 3 by Supt Bridgelal with assistance from Sgt Bassarath.
Both Balgobin and Benny have been held in police custody since April 20, after Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander signed preventative detention orders for the pair in accordance with Paragraph 2 of the Schedule to the Emergency Powers Regulations of 2026. The detention orders name Balgobin as a resident of multiple addresses in Penal’s San Francique district, and allege that she is a confirmed member of an organized Informal Crime Group (ICG) operating across the Penal region. Investigative intelligence linked to the detention order names the group as being responsible for a pattern of serious criminal activity including kidnapping, false imprisonment, forced labor, grievous sexual assault, serious indecency, and attempted murder. Authorities also confirmed that the group had made explicit threats to kill witnesses in the case to prevent prosecution.
The case has been marred by suspicious interference: just four days after Basdeo’s escape, on April 15, one of Balgobin’s unoccupied residential properties was damaged in a fire. No people were present at the property at the time of the blaze, and no injuries were reported. But responding officers found evidence that the fire was intentional arson: a broken bedroom window and forensic confirmation that a Molotov cocktail had been thrown at the building. No additional suspects have been named in connection with the arson to date.
Monday’s court appearance marks the first public procedural step in a case that has shone a spotlight on the risks of abuse and exploitation faced by domestic workers in Trinidad and Tobago, and tested the country’s emergency preventative detention powers for organized criminal groups.