Police killed four suspected bandits? three teenagers and a 20-year-old?on Monday night, after an abduction and ensuing high-speed chase ended with a shoot-out on the streets of Freeport.
Dead are Felicity residents Prem Narad,15, of Pingla Street; Dennis Roopchand, 20, of Phillip Street; Ravi Boodoo,16, of Union Village; and Kevin Singh, 16, of Cacandee Road.
According to police reports, taxi-driver Jairam Ragoo, 48, of 127 Main Road, Felicity, who also works with the Chaguanas Borough Corporation, was operating his taxi around 7.30 pm when he picked up a female passenger, Krishendaye Kissoon, 32, of Enterprise Street, Chaguanas.
Ragoo, who lives a stone?s throw away from one of the dead teens, Singh, picked up the quartet. However, the group then proceeded to attack him, chopping him and beating him about the body with a gun butt. Ragoo was then stuffed into the trunk of his Nissan Laurel Medallist as the youths sped off with the car.
Kissoon was released and she immediately called the police. Ragoo later escaped in the vicinity of Waterloo Cremation site in Carapichaima. He was said to have managed to open his trunk, jumped out and ran into the sea when the car slowed down.
Members of the Guard and Emergency Branch (North) spotted the car at St Mary?s Junction shortly after 9 pm and began pursuit.
The bandits, in their attempt to make a getaway, rammed into a Nissan B12 Sentra after breaking a traffic light.
An unidentified man and his two young children in the Sentra had to be hospitalized after the smash-up.
The stolen car was then blocked off from the rear by police operating in a station wagon.
Realising they were cornered, the bandits reportedly started shooting at the police, who returned fire.
The driver of the stolen vehicle was first to be hit and his body slumped in front of the vehicle.
The other three were all hit inside the car, where police say they recovered two revolvers, a cutlass and a bag filled with an undisclosed amount of cash.
The police then cordoned off St Mary?s Junction as crime scene investigators started looking for evidence.
Both the public and media were warned to keep behind the lines as police started this process.
The District Medical Officer visited the scene shortly before midnight and the bodies were removed to the Forensic Science Centre, St James.
The vehicles were then towed to the Chaguanas Police Station.
Speaking about the incident yesterday, Ragoo said he was chopped about the body and his hand was cut when he struggled to hold back a cutlass blade held by one of his assailants.
He said he was eventually picked up by the police, who were in pursuit of his assailants, and taken to the Couva District Hospital where he was treated and discharged around 2 am.
Ragoo said he was very much concerned about his safety and declined to be photographed.
However, relatives of the killed youths are calling on Commissioner of Police Trevor Paul to investigate members of the GEB, claiming they used excessive force.
Gayatri Boodoo, sister of Ravi Boodoo, said the police had not visited their house to notify them of the death.
She said relatives notified them of the news and her mother had gone to identify the body.
Her brother had been arrested in June, in connection with the death of his uncle, Rajdeo Ramlochan, a bottle collector. The youth had allegedly struck Rajpaul with a stone during an altercation for copper cables. The father of 10 subsequently fell to the ground and died.
Boodoo moved out of the family house after the incident.
Cecil Sammy, 62, grandfather of Dennis Roopchand, said his family too was upset.
Sammy said Roopchand displayed no criminal tendencies.
Dalchan Singh, 50, the uncle of Kevin Singh, said his nephew was working for a doctor in the village.
Balliram, 49, and Kathryn Narad, 39, the parents of Prem Narad, said their son was a good child. They too called for an investigation.
The Narads, who have 10 children, said they were deeply saddened by the death of their son, who attended the Chaguanas Junior Secondary School.
