Police mounted a manhunt in a forested area along the Central Range yesterday as they widened their search for abducted schoolteacher Keston Mahabir. However, there was still no sign of him up to last night. Several relatives also joined in the search yesterday.
A source, who requested anonymity, said officers received information that Mahabir had been taken to a forested area where he was abandoned. It is uncertain whether he was injured. No ransom has yet been made and investigators said the abduction plot was believed to have been hatched by a man known to police.
Up to late yesterday, three women and a man were still being questioned in connection with Mahabir’s disappearance. All four suspects were kept at separate locations yesterday. The car used in the abduction was also impounded by the police. Around midday yesterday, a team of officers visited Mahabir’s home again and took DNA samples to match with evidence taken from the car.
In an interview yesterday, Mahabir’s fiance Shereeza Mohammed renewed her appeal for Mahabir’s safe return. “I cannot sleep thinking about him. I want him to come back home,” Mohammed said. Mahabir’s siblings said they were still puzzled about why he was snatched, noting there were still no ransom calls.
Mahabir, 26, of Pitiman Trace, Sonny Ladoo Road, Mc Bean, Couva, was snatched around noon on Tuesday. Police said two women, posing as officials from the Education Ministry, visited Mahabir’s home to discuss registration of his school, Keston’s Educational Institute.
However, while the women were chatting with Mahabir in a room at the back of his house, where the school is located, a silver Tiida pulled up on the compound, three men got out, grabbed him, bundled him into the car and sped off.
Police confirmed yesterday their preliminary investigations also revealed the women who visited Mahabir were not bonafide ministry officials. He had 73 pupils enrolled at his school. He was a graduate of the University of T&T and began giving private tuition five years ago.
Anyone with information on Mahabir’s whereabouts can contact Crime Stoppers at 800 TIPS.