A Bangladeshi born woman and her ex-partner were found dead in a house in Smithfield of Sydney in Australia on Sunday, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.
The deceased were Tasmin Bahar, 35, and her partner Dave Pillay. Tasmin Bahar was recently separated from Dave Pillay and moved out of the home they shared in Smithfield with their young daughter.
But it was Father’s Day on Sunday and, despite the relationship troubles they had recently endured, Ms Bahar agreed that their three-year-old daughter should share part of the special day with her dad, said family sources.
Ms Bahar drove her daughter to the weatherboard home they had previously shared on The Horsley Drive for the meeting on Sunday. Just after 12.30pm on that day, the bodies of Ms Bahar and Mr Pillay were discovered inside the bathroom of the house, in what Homicide Squad detectives are treating as a possible murder-suicide.
Their daughter, 3, was found sleeping in the house and was not physically injured.
Ms Bahar’s sister, Sharagin Bahar, said from New York that she was in utter shock at the sudden death of her sister, and was flying to their home country of Bangladesh and then on to Sydney, hoping to take custody of her niece, who had now lost both of her parents.
Sharagin said her sister had been in a relationship with Mr Pillay for about six years and her sister had told her that Mr Pillay had physically threatened her and her daughter in the past. Ms Bahar also told her that she had filed a report with police about the threats. Several weeks ago, Ms Bahar moved out of the house with their daughter and rented her own apartment, Sharagin said. “We told her not to go to the Smithfield house but she went for Father’s Day,” Sharagin said.
“She wanted Dave to see her daughter.” Ms Bahar’s cousin, Sifat Sharmin Ruponty, said that Ms Bahar had told her that she had been physically threatened, including with a knife, during her relationship with Mr Pillay.
Ms Ruponty said her cousin moved to Australia in 2009 and was highly educated, having studied science at university. Police said no other people were wanted over the deaths and the investigation was ongoing.
