Outraged villagers yesterday questioned why 25-year-old doubles vendor Nishad Amrit Radhay had to be killed by bandits during a home invasion yesterday.
“They should not have killed him…Why? Was that called for?” one villager was heard saying at Cameron Street, Balmain, Couva, where the incident took place.
Radhay was in the kitchen of his home at about 2 am when two men, armed with guns, confronted him.
According to a police report, it is believed that one of the bandits shot Radhay in the head.
Police said Radhay, who sold doubles, was preparing for the day’s sales when the incident occurred.
Radhay, who had woke up at 1 am to begin preparations, had told his parents to take an additional hour’s sleep while he boiled the channa, relatives said.
On hearing the gunshot Radhay’s relatives woke up and ran to the kitchen area, only to be ordered into the main house by the gunmen.
Both Radhay’s parents and sister were forced to look on helplessly as the men ransacked the house.
They were not even allowed to help Radhay who was lying on the floor of the kitchen.
Police said the bandits escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Radhay was subsequently taken to the Couva District Hospital where he died while undergoing treatment.
At the house yesterday, crime scene investigators were still processing the scene, gathering evidence, including fingerprints.
Scores of family and friends gathered on the roadway looking on.
Shortly after noon, Radhay’s parents and sister, along with his fiancé, Inesha Moonwah returned to the scene. They were too distraught to speak—Radhay’s father asking for “alone time.”
The T&T Guardian was told that Radhay had asked Moonwah for her hand in marriage just in September during a short vacation in Tobago.
“Both of them were preparing for their wedding which would have been just a couple months away…if I am not mistaken, Nishad was so excited to begin his life with his love that he had already bought his wedding suit,” said a close friend of the family, who asked not to be identified.
The friend described Radhay as a “very hard-working person...in fact the entire family was very hardworking. His father was one of those who went out of a job when Caroni (1975) Limited closed down and he went into the doubles business.”
“Nishad never used to lime, never even drank alcohol. He was such a soft-spoken person. His day was getting up at 1.30 am every morning selling doubles, then home resting and on evenings going to run, his favourite past time…a runner in training. It is impossible to say that he ever had any confrontation with anyone,” the family friend said.
Radhay, who was a victim of severe bullying in primary school because of being overweight was diagnosed with a fatty liver and acid reflux at the age of 18. At a weight of 260 pounds, Radhay decided to turn his life around—dieting and exercising—later successfully becoming fit and a personal trainer.
MP outraged over killing
Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh yesterday expressed shock and outrage over Radhay’s murder.
Radhay, at one time, worked at his constituency office in an administrative capacity.
“The murder of this young man is very disturbing and a true tragedy. Balmain is in mourning. This should never have happened to such a bright and law-abiding individual. It’s so tragic that this young man’s life was so senselessly snuffed out,” Indarsingh said.
Indarsingh blamed the Government for “spiralling out-of-crime epidemic” in the country.
He disclosed that over 18 months ago, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley assured him in the Parliament that joint/army police patrols have been taking place on the streets of Couva South and the community of Couva, but added that those patrols seemed to be non-existent.
Man shot dead at Pashley Street
In another case of murder, Marlon John 39, of Buller Trace, off Pashley Street was shot and killed yesterday while walking along Pashley Street.
A report stated that John was shot at about 7.30 am. He was taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he died. No motive was given for John’s murder. For the year, 432 people have been murdered as compared to 411 for the comparative period last year.