Rio Claro chop victim, 77, dies in hospital

RETIRED teacher James Gajadhar, 77, of Rio Claro, died on August 15, the day after he was chopped in his garden.

The police said Gajadhar, of Old Rio Claro Mayaro Road, died at around 8.30 pm at the San Fernando General Hospital.

A 33-year-old villager who is an outpatient of the St Ann’s Psychiatric Hospital was detained shortly after the then-badly wounded Gajadhar was found.

The suspect remained in police custody up to the afternoon of August 16.

Reports are around 3.30 pm on August 14, Gajadhar went to pick ochroes at the back of his home. A close female relative later found him on the ground with multiple chop wounds.

Rio Claro police were called.

Gajadhar was taken to the Rio Claro Health Centre and then transferred to the hospital.

A relative took to social media to thank the police for responding quickly to the attack.

But a post on Facebook on August 16 said: “(Gajadhar) did not survive the attack, and justice must be served to the highest level. Again, thanks to the officers of the Rio Claro police station. Appreciated your response.”

A statement from Mayaro MP Rushton Paray on August 16 said the brutal killing was another tragic reminder that crime and violence have tightened their merciless grip on the nation.

The Opposition MP said the once peaceful communities in the constituency have been transformed into dangerous killing fields, where lawlessness reigns unchecked.

“This rampant criminality thrives on the perception that our police are ineffective, the judiciary is feeble, and the prison system is utterly impotent. The country has lost confidence in every institution that is supposed to protect us,” Paray said.

“The public’s faith in our leaders has been shattered, and unless there is a swift and decisive overhaul of our approach to crime, we are doomed to continue down this treacherous path of chaos and destruction.”

Gajadhar’s murder marked the fourth in the Rio Claro district for the year.

All four murders took place within the past few weeks.

On August 6, around 10 pm, bar owner Garnet Sydney, 29, was shot dead outside the bar at Dades Trace Junction and Tabaquite Road while playing all fours with other people. A Nissan B13 car stopped nearby and a man got out, walked up to the group and shot Sydney before returning to the car, which drove off.

The police found the car, which carried false number plates, abandoned near a cemetery. The car had been reported stolen in the Laventille district.

Three days earlier, on August 3, Carlos Modeste, 31, of Princes Town, was shot dead at Pinder Trace off Dades Road.

On July 20, Keston “Milky” Alexander, 23, of Poole Valley Trace, Guayaguayare Road, was taking a bath outside his home when he was shot dead. Alexander’s murder was the first of the year in the district.

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