The murder of 16-year-old school girl Rachael Ramkissoon has disrupted the quiet, rural community of San Raphael.
In the aftermath, residents are considering counter-measures such as gates and barricades to control the influx of vehicles and unknown people from outside the area committing crimes within remote areas in the community, one of them being the forested area near Balata Trace, Arena, where Ramkissoon’s body was discovered Friday evening.
Anthony Solozano, a resident from Arena Road, said “There are three roads that people use to get into the forest; Brazil/Arena Road that passes in front Brazil Secondary School, Arena Road, and Balata Road off the Cumuto/Tumpuna Road.
“It is possible that a vehicle would have used one of these roads to get in if she missed her bus and a vehicle must have picked her up if she was looking for a taxi or transport.
“We’re thinking of lobbying Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan to put gates at these entrances so that they will have control of who comes and leaves here.”
He said residents can be given keys to the gates to control the flow of traffic and people.
Solozano said residents will be bringing the gate proposal to the village council and their local representative MP for La Horquetta/Talparo Maxie Cuffie.
He said cars were also scrapped as well as other illicit activities in isolated areas in Arena.
A spokesman from the San Raphael Police Station said the operating word to describe the area was “quiet”, the most common violation of the law was marijuana cultivation or isolated incidents of domestic disturbances.
Kevin, from Arena Road, said it was “outsiders” who were giving the quiet and peaceful area a bad reputation.
He said Arena was expansive, people can enter the area from Talparo, Cumuto, and Rio Claro if they knew the layout, commit their crime by the Arena Dam, and no one would know.
Jean Highly, who has lived more than 50 years in the area, said Ramkissoon’s death was too tragic.
She said residents were not familiar with violent incidents in their neighbourhood.
Highly said she owned a bar on the road and she felt safe walking to her nearby home alone at 3 am.
Martina Riddess, from Arena Road, said Ramkissoon’s death came as a shock for residents.
She said she knew the girl’s mother and could imagine the state of mind she must be in.
Riddess said there was an incident years ago, things quieted down, and now the young student’s death occurred which was heartbreaking.
Riddess was referring to the body of Dhanraj Bowlah, 32, a tailor from Ajodha Road, Cunupia, that was found bound and gagged in the Arena River, San Rafael, in 2007.
When Ramkissoon’s cousin Jonathan Francis was asked yesterday whether there were any new developments in her case, he said the police were investigating and they did not want to interrupt the process.
He said the family believed the T&T Police Service could do something positive.
WE ARE GOING ALL OUT TO FIGHT CRIME—DILLON
National Security Minister Edmund Dillon says he is saddened by the death of the 16-year-old schoolgirl.
“It really saddens me deeply. I am a parent also. I have two daughters and it saddens me when something like that can happen to us,” Dillon said.
He was speaking with reporters at the launch of the national clean-up campaign for the Diego Martin Regional Corporation yesterday at the Foreshore, Audrey Jeffers Highway.
He said, “I can tell you, the Commissioner of Police and I have been discussed the issue and we are going to put everything in our power to ensure that crime, not only this one, but all other criminal activities be met with the full force and the full brunt of the law.”
He said they’ve noticed a pattern taking place and they would be reviewing their strategies and operations.
“Quite naturally, we have done that over the last couple months where we have intensified our presence, you would have seen more police vehicles on the streets, more police officers on the streets.”
However, he said there were still some areas they needed to cover.
—Rhonda Krystal Rambally