Vidya Ginda: Heartbroken daughter reveals mother's body could be buried in Wolverhampton home
A heartbroken daughter has revealed her mother could be buried in the Wolverhampton house she went missing from.
Sareata Ginda, who is now 45, was just five months old when her mother Vidya went missing from the family home and grocery store at 9 Bristol Street in October 1973.
Her father Bhajan was later convicted of manslaughter but after digging through the old court files, Sareata is convinced her father is not guilty of what he was convicted of, and has started her own investigation to find out what really happened to her mother.
After the Express & Star took Sareata back to her former Wolverhampton home, the visibly upset former university lecturer said: "This was where my mother disappeared from. Either she left the house in the morning of Monday October 29 1973 or she might have been killed in the house. She could even still be in the house as it has never been properly searched, I just don't know."
Sareata, who is still waiting on the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to deliver their judgement on her father's case, is investigating many possible other theories regarding what fate befell her mother – including the chance she is still buried in the Wolverhampton home.
She said: "One of the things I want is for a forensic team to go into the house and do a proper search."
West Midlands Police has said it would be 'inappropriate' to comment while the case is under review by the CCRC.
Bhajan Ginda was convicted of jointing his wife's body before burning the bones and binning the flesh. It was alleged he cut her up because he panicked after she fell down the stairs following a tussle and died.
But despite being jailed for 12 years (later reduced to seven on appeal) following a trial at Stafford Crown Court, Sareata is convinced her father did not butcher or burn the body. She points to a mountain of evidence revealed at his trial as to why he's innocent of what he was convicted of.
The evidence included:
- Bhajan alleged he was beaten and threatened by police officers into confessing
- Experts said there was no way Bhajan could have burnt Vidya's bones the way he described and there was no evidence in the garden's soil of that happening
- Nine people including a police officer visited the family home and shop on the day of the alleged dismemberment but noticed nothing untoward.
Bhajan Ginda died in March 2012.
Anyone with any information regarding the disappearance of Vidya Ginda is asked to email jack.averty@expressandstar.co.uk or call 01902 319434.
