Convinced that her husband PC Govindra Ramroop’s death was no accident, Susan Roopnarine-Ramroop yesterday begged National Security Minister Edmund Dillon not to allow her husband's demise to become a cold case.
Roopnarine-Ramroop, of Laltoo Trace, Penal, journeyed to San Fernando for the funeral of PC Anson Benjamin, hoping to catch the ear of Dillon and acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams.
Saying her life had gone topsy-turvy since his passing, Roopnarine-Ramroop said the man who killed her husband was still on active duty.
“We need closure. We have been calling the investigators to find out what is happening with the case and they keep telling us they are awaiting a forensic report. It is 160 days since he died and we have not received closure,” Roopnarine-Ramroop said.
She told Dillon she wanted him to look into the case personally.
“I have no one to go home to. We were married for one year and two months and then he was killed. Our lives were stolen from us,” she cried.
She added that the circumstances under which Ramroop died were at best “suspicious”.
“I do not believe that his death was accidental. I think he was murdered. When PC Benjamin was shot in the head he lived for three days. My husband was shot on his side and they say he died 45 minutes later. He bled to death,” Roopnarine-Ramroop said.
Wiping away tears, she added: “I think he was killed deliberately and it is haunting me because this case is running cold and I am not getting any answers.”
After hearing her appeal Dillon promised Susan to look into the case.
“My deepest condolences to you and your family. I will definitely look into it to see what’s happening. I will have a discussion with the CoP and see where that matter is,” Dillon said.
He added: “I know it is under investigation and I will definitely have a conversation with the Commissioner of Police and update you accordingly. I will provide you with answers before the end of this week.”
Last November 5, Ramroop, a Special Reserve Police attached to the La Brea Rapid Response Unit, was shot dead by a colleague at the Guapo Police Station.
Some South Western Division officers labelled his death as an accident, saying one of Ramroop’s colleagues was clearing his gun at the time. Speaking at Ramroop’s funeral, acting Commissioner Williams told the media that firearms do not discharge accidentally and that an investigation was being done.