(Trinidad Guardian) Since the shocking discovery of his father’s body down a precipice at his Cunupia farm nine weeks ago, Rishi Mahadeo has knocked on every single door seeking justice for him.
To date, no homicide officer has been assigned to investigate the circumstances of how his father, Ramesh Mahadeo, died.
Ramesh, 71, a farmer for the past 20 years, was found in the pond of his ten-acre farm on April 15 by one of his employees.
At the time, the police had ruled his death as a suspected drowning.
Mahadeo, 43, told the Sunday Guardian that he had to fight to have a proper autopsy done and to get the police to take his father’s death seriously.
He has become frustrated and disillusioned by the process.
Mahadeo, the country manager for Champion X, a service company in the energy sector, observed that with all his connections and friends, he has not made any progress in uncovering the truth of his father’s death.
“The system failed us. And even the system to keep that system in check is failing us also. It’s a really sad situation,” he said.
On Wednesday evening, the BBC hosted World Questions at the Central Bank Auditorium.
Mahadeo, who attended the public event, raised the handling of his father’s death.
His question was the first to begin the debate.
He told the panel: “My father was a farmer plagued by crime until he was murdered on his farm two months ago. To date, no homicide detective has been assigned to us. Why have the past and present governments and the Police Service failed us on crime?”
April 15, Mahadeo received word that his father’s body had been found.
His brother, Shiva, was the first to alert him and his two sisters—Kshama and Rena Mahadeo–about the incident.
Mahadeo said that all his father’s belongings—his wallet and other items—were found at the side of the precipice.
The items missing were his money and his registered firearm.
Mahadeo said on the first encounter, the police classified his father’s death as an accidental drowning.
“In the farm, there is a precipice. It’s a 12-foot drop. So he was found there entangled in the roots. All his stuff was on the side—a piece of iron, his wallet, his phone, a multitool which he had. His firearm and his money were missing,” he said.
He said the discovery was made at midday and officers from the TTPS, ambulance, and the Fire Service came to the farm.
He lamented that the Fire Service did not want to retrieve the body and let the undertakers retrieve it.
“We don’t know why. The undertakers are not trained to wear a harness, they are not trained to use the body cage to bring it up. It was a total mess and the undertakers took about six hours to retrieve the body,” he recalled.
Following this, Mahadeo said the county’s District Medical Officer (DMO) came and said that he did not see any marks of violence.
“Obviously, those things would be more visual—no stab wounds, no gunshots or no bloody face,” he said.
Mahadeo alleged that the senior officer at the time made everyone pack up and leave.
He said the next day they tried to determine whether the body would be sent to the Forensic Science Centre but it was the intervention of a family friend who helped them get the body to ‘Forensics’ to do an autopsy.
“It took a while for the body to come, maybe four or five days because the first time the police weren’t there and then they sent it again. Just to schedule the thing was also difficult. It took about a week,” he said.
The autopsy revealed that he died from “blunt force injury to head, neck and chest associated with compression to neck.”
Yesterday, the BBC premiered its World Questions programme which was recorded in T&T last Wednesday.
It was hosted by the BBC’s Jonny Dymond and featured Energy Minister and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young, Opposition MP Anita Haynes, Economist Dr Marlene Attzs and CEO of the Heroes Foundation Lawrence Arjoon.
Mahadeo’s question on why past and present governments and the TTPS failed to address crime was the first.
“The responsibility falls to whoever is the Government in power,” Young admitted.
“I can assure you we are putting a lot of resources behind it. Are we where we need to be? Absolutely not,” he said.
“Crime is something that is affecting everywhere in the world … but none of us wants to hear that. What are we doing about dealing with it right here in Trinidad and Tobago? We are trying to employ as much technology as possible, we are trying to boost the morale of the T&T Police Service. It is something that is a top priority for the Government.”
In response, Haynes said as a citizen it had been difficult in the last few years to be looking on at the escalating crime wave.
“We are already afraid. But what we aren’t hearing is that with the $5 billion put towards national security, or all of the interventions that are being proposed, we never hear at the end of the year or the end of a stipulated period any acknowledgment of what worked, what did not work or what could work better if we need certain improvements,” she said.
Attzs expressed concern that the TTPS was seen as a panacea.
“I think that is not a healthy approach. The T&T Police Service is an institution and unless we look at whether or not that institution is appropriately resourced, I mean both in terms of their human resources and financial resources etc, then they will really not be equipped to address the kinds of challenges that we are seeing in Trinidad and Tobago,” she said.
“It is very apparent that the nature of crime has changed and therefore your institutional framework has to be one that adapts to suit that changing dynamic. And it is not simply a question about a budgetary allocation” Attzs added.
Arjoon said honesty, trust and meaningful collaboration are critical to building a safe and sustainable society.
“We do not have a society that trusts. And that is me being honest. And it starts from our leadership come straight down,” he said
In response, Mahadeo told the audience his view on crime: “I think it has a lot to do with corruption in the Police Service.”
