Pundit: Cops slow even with social media

SEETA PERSAD

In this age of social media, police response to crimes should be faster, a pundit said during the funeral of a murder victim in Couva yesterday.

Ganesh Samaroo, 38, was chopped to death in front of his house at Perseverance Road, Couva on Tuesday evening. His funeral also took place there. Presiding at the service, pundit Baldath Maharaj said he was surprised that even with social media, response by law enforcement to the crime was too slow. Villagers were overheard saying that the assailant was a well-known person who often threatened them with a cutlass.

“In this time when communication is so easy, with all the social media networks, the police and those in the protective service need to respond faster,” Maharaj said He warned that in many communities, there many mentally ill people walking around and people need to become aware of this. He said people must now live constantly watching over their shoulders. “You have to be quick in your thinking and you must have what it takes to walk away from aggressive people,” Maharaj said. Samaroo was the father of two teenage boys, Damien and Justin. Maharaj called on mourners to help the children recover from their pain.

Samaroo’s mother Ruby, 75, had to be pushed in a wheelchair to the hearse to bid farewell to her son. She cried,”God help my child!” Samaroo’s niece, Ramona Rampersad, in her eulogy said he was a genuine, and his brother, Mohan, described him as a hardworking and helpful.