The couple found dead at the Kingston seawall on Monday have been identified as teenagers Kavita Ackloo and Ramesh Beharry, whose families were yesterday at a loss as to why they apparently took their own lives.
Ackloo, called ‘Shevon,’ 19, of South Turkeyen, was positively identified by her father, Vincent Ackloo, around 5pm yesterday at the Lyken Funeral Parlour, while Beharry, 18, called ‘Boy,’ of Phase Two Good Hope, was not identified until last night by his mother, Chandracarla Sanichar.
They were last seen alive on the Kingston seawall, in the vicinity of Pegasus Hotel, around 2pm Monday by passersby.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum had previously said police received a call around 5 pm on Monday alerting them to the discovery of the bodies on the seawall. Blanhum had said ranks retrieved a receipt for the purchase of two poisonous substances from the young man’s pocket. The purchase was made from Caribbean Chemicals on Croal Street, Georgetown.
Ackloo, who was a sales rep at Bombay Bazaar, located in the Sharon’s Building on King Street, Georgetown, was last seen alive by her mother on Sunday, when the girl visited her.
The mother, Sharda (only name given), noted that the girl had been living with her and her step-father at Cummings Lodge until three weeks ago, when she decided to move to her father’s house at South Turkeyen.
The mother suggested that her daughter took the decision after she objected to the girl bringing a young man, suspected to be Beharry, to her step-father’s home. She noted that the girl had previously brought another man to her home some time ago and the relationship was objected to.
“She bring the boy here and all I say, ‘I don’t want you bring nobody here,’ and that is why she decide to take the boy to her father house,” Sharda said.
“She come with the boy and say she moving to she father house,” she added.
She said she was informed that her daughter met the boy via WhatsApp a few days before making the sudden decision to move from her home.
The woman, however, noted that she had no objection to the relationship.
Sharda and other relatives were shocked at the idea that Ackloo would take her own life, particularly given the girl’s own reaction when a relative tried to kill herself earlier this year. “She was always the encouraging one because (the relative) had consumed poison earlier this year and was in the hospital and survived and Kavita used to tell me, ‘Mommy, I would never do something like that to myself,’” Sharda said.
Another relative had ended her life a few years ago by consuming a poisonous substance, according to Sharda.
‘Lost’
When contacted last evening, Vincent Ackloo, said he was still trying to accept the fact that his daughter is now dead. “Since she move and come live with me, she always appeared to be lost and I always enquire what happen Shevon but she always say that is my mood,” he recounted. “If she had any problem, I would do something to fix the situation but she never explain anything to me about herself,” the distraught father added.
He said was not aware of his daughter sharing a relationship with the young man, whom he thought was just a friend.
On Monday evening, the father said, he sensed something was amiss when the girl did not return home. It was not until yesterday morning that his worst fears were confirmed after he recognised his daughter instantly after seeing the photos of the bodies in a newspaper.
Meanwhile, Beharry, who was a joiner in the Mon Repos area, was not identified until late yesterday by relatives who were alerted by images broadcast on a TV newscast. Relatives, including Beharry’s mother and step-father, turned up in their numbers at the funeral parlour.
His mother, Sanichar, broke down in tears while being comforted by other relatives. She told Stabroek News that her son lived at his aunt next door to her. She last saw him alive on Sunday morning, while his aunt, who was also present, saw him on Monday morning while he appeared to be getting ready for work.
According to the aunt, Beharry never told her or any other relative of any problems he was experiencing. She said she would notice him quite often on the cellular phone.
Beharry’s family was not aware of the relationship he shared with any woman and had never seen Ackloo.
They did not think it strange when he did not return on Monday evening since he usually slept away from home. The aunt said on the last occasion he did, which was a few weeks ago, she questioned him and he said he slept for two days at a friend’s house.
However, the family became concerned late Monday evening when Beharry’s employer visited and enquired about him from Sanichar, since he had not turned up for work.
Ackloo, who was the second of five children, would have been celebrating her 20th birthday tomorrow, while Beharry, the eldest of three children, would have been celebrating his next birthday on Tuesday.
Post-mortem examinations are expected to be performed on the bodies today.
