Officers of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad and the Homicide Bureau in South have detained a 24-year-old suspect for questioning following the mysterious disappearance of a 52-year-old man of Reform Village, Gasparillo.
On Sunday, relatives of Deoraj Bedassie filed a missing person's report at the Gasparillo Police Station after they found blood stains on the walls and pillars of Bedassie's verandah.
On the night of his 52nd birthday, on March 26, Bedassie had a confrontation with a 24-year-old man, of Barrackpore, neighbours said.
They claimed he was beaten by the man.
A week later, Bedassie, who was never married and had no children, was reported missing.
Speaking with the T&T Guardian, Bedassie’s niece, Shivanie Nickchadee said that she knew her uncle was beaten by a man, well known to the family.
She said it was not unusual for Bedassie to visit one of his siblings and spend a few days.
“He was accustomed to going by them but would not have spent more than four days by one. I really thought he was by them but when I didn’t see him come back home I began to worry. It was only on Sunday after I called around to see if he was by anyone of his sisters they told me no that they didn’t see him and that was when I became more worried. We then went to his house to look for him and that was when we saw blood stains,” Nickchadee said.
“We found it very strange because not only these men were struggling to bring out the bags but they also carried out a brushing cutlass, a Gilpin and a pipe gun. It was not only until we realised that Deoraj was missing that we began to put things into perspective and now, we fear that Deoraj has been killed and maybe his body chopped up and dumped somewhere,” the neighbour said.
On Monday, when the T&T Guardian team arrived at the scene, AKS officers were already there interviewing neighbours and close relatives. The officers upon receiving critical information called on homicide officers to join them in their investigations.
One officer told the T&T Guardian that “We have an idea where this case is heading hence the reason why we called the homicide officers in,” the AKS officer said.
Already close relatives of Bedassie’s have launched a manhunt for Bedassie in the Ste Madeleine area.
“Actually, we went to the pundit and he told us certain things and guided us in a direction. We went Ste Madeleine to search but came up with nothing but we will go back and continue our search,” the relative said.
Last night, another team of police officers cordoned off the area with police tape and officers stood guard overnight. An officer said that the scene was now considered a crime scene and that it needed to be extensively processed and kept under surveillance.
Officers from the Crime Scene Unit went to the scene last night.
Bedassie, a former worker at the Caroni (1975) Ltd, had acquired two acres of agricultural lands and a residential plot. He recently sold the lands and was receiving payments in parts.
