The serenity of a Princes Town community was shattered on Thursday night when the nude body of caretaker Lochan Ramlochan was found in his apartment.
Police said Ramlochan, 58, of Lothians Road, was strangled with an electrical cord sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
A report said around 8.20 pm, PC Jacob and PC Mohammed responded to a report of a man seen lying motionless at a house in Lothians Road and on arrival they saw, through a ventilation block, Ramlochan lying on the floor.
After calling out to him several times and getting no response, the officers broke into the apartment and found him lying face-down with his hands bound and a cord wrapped around his neck.
Police said the room was ransacked as if his killers were searching for something and relatives said they were yet to recover Ramlochan’s wallet.
Speaking at his home yesterday, Ramlochan’s elder brother Tajai Singh said his brother was accustomed to wearing a lot of jewelry and he suspected that the killer(s) were searching for it.
However, Ramlochan’s jewelry was being kept by a friend and Singh said when the killer(s) got nothing, they probably strangled his brother.
Asked why Ramlochan was nude, he said he did not know but the last thing his brother told neighbours was that he was going home to take a bath.
“Neighbours said he was liming at a parlour on Wednesday evening and he left around 7.30 pm, he said he was going to take a bath. He would usually come out every morning with his bird and the next day they didn’t see him come out so they went to look for him. When they reached there, they saw him dead and called the police.
“They strangled him, the police said they used an electrical cord and his hands were tied behind his back. The thing is, he does not carry anybody there. He was a man who did not drink or smoke. All he used to drink was Malta. He would go in town, play Play Whe and come back home.
“What really happened, that fella, he had a lot of jewelry, gold and always had money in his pocket so I don’t know if it is that they tried to kill him for. I think somebody was keeping them for him and his killer probably figured that he had it home,” Singh said.
He said investigators even asked whether his brother was a homosexual but he denied this. He said his brother never had enemies, arguments or court matters with anyone.
According to Singh, Ramlochan had stayed in an apartment at the back of the owner’s property with an elderly couple since childhood.
When the couple died, their children rebuilt the house and allowed Ramlochan to remain there and take care of the property. He said they would also send money for him monthly.