Give businessmen guns. Chairman of the Couva-Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce Ramchand Rajbal Maraj and retired Senior Superintendent of Police Johnny Abraham made this call yesterday during the funeral service for murdered doubles vendor Nishad Radhay.
Radhay, 25, was shot dead at his Cameron Street, Balmain home around 2 am on Wednesday, when two men stormed his home and shot him in the head before running off with cash and jewelry.
Abraham, who knew the Radhay family well, said the country was “getting from bad to worse”.
“I myself am under lockdown, I does hardly go anywhere, I ent fraid nobody you know that,” Abraham said.
“At the same time it have people out here who creating employment and when they go home in the night they can’t protect their wife, they can’t protect their children, because they haven’t gotten that firearm and they applying for firearm 20 and 30 years. They creating employment and can’t get a lawful firearm.”
Abraham said some police in the service are either afraid to do what they are supposed to do or don’t know what to do and may have given up on crime fighting. He cited the recent incident in the Beetham where law-abiding citizen going to work were beaten and robbed as an example of the police mishandling the situation
“I feel the police raise up their hand and surrender. That is my feeling.”
Rajbal Maraj said he expected crime to get worse in Couva unless the area gets more patrols and resources. He said the manpower in Central had not changed in the last 15 years even though the population had skyrocketed in the last decade.
Maraj said ‘lawlessness has really raised its ugly head now and it’s time the Ministry of National Security do something about crime. There is a great call for businessmen to be equipped with firearms to protect their families and business.”
Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh told the gathering that the people in Couva may have just reached their breaking point as the people in Beetham.
Radhay’s cousin, Kavisha Manack, who delivered the eulogy said Radhay was a devotee of God and a good community worker.