E-Paper
Abducted Indian rescued in Trinidad
Car dealer Ramesh Mahabir (35) was rescued by the Trinidad police after three days.
A 35-year-old car dealer of Indian origin, who was kidnapped from Couva in central Trinidad, was rescued by the police on Monday after three days.
Ramesh Mahabir, who part-owns R&R Traders, a foreign used car dealership, was kidnapped from his place of business at McBean village, Couva on Friday by two men. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of TT$2 million for his release.
Though the kidnappers got away, a Trinidad and Tobago Police Service officer attached to the Guard and Emergency Branch (GEB), has been arrested in this connection, according to media reports.
The police had earlier botched a rescue mission on Sunday when the helicopter they were using flew in too soon into the forested hills where Mahabir was suspected to be held, allowing the kidnappers to escape.
On Monday afternoon, he was found handcuffed and alone on a forested area in the hills with no sign of the kidnappers. He was later sent for a medical examination.
It has not been confirmed whether Mahabir's family had paid the ransom amount to the kidnappers with whom they had held sustained negotiations.
Media reports say the captors may have panicked in the face of police action and abandoned Mahabir.
The police said that the members of the Bobo Shanti community, who are familiar with the forested hills where Mahabir was held, might have been involved in the incident.
Couva, is located in Caroni county in central Trinidad. It is one of the oldest sugar plantation areas. There is a large concentration of people of Indian origin (PIOs) there, whose ancestors had been brought in as indentured labour.
Indians comprise 40 per cent of Trinidad and Tobago's population of over one million.
