Penal father drowns in pond

Kamal Maharaj
Kamal Maharaj

A father of one is believed to have drowned in a pond in Penal on Friday night.

The body of Kamal Maharaj, 49, was dug out of a pond near his home on Gopie Trace by relatives at about 6 am yesterday.

Maharaj left his home shortly after 11 pm on Friday after a heated argument with a male relative. Police said when Maharaj did not return home, family members searched for him. His body was found in the muddy waters of a 10-foot pond behind the family’s home. Maharaj’s wife Devika, 50, yesterday said her husband left home in a fit of rage.

“We were all drinking and liming and having a good time and an argument started between Kamal and a relative. He was already drinking so he began cursing loudly then he left the house angry,” she said. Devika said her husband did not say where he was going but at the time she was not worried as he would usually leave the house whenever he got into arguments.

Devika Maharaj, with relatives around her, speaks about her husband Kamla Maharaj hours after his body was found in a pond near their home at Gopie Trace, Penal yesterday.

“He would always return home. I would wake up the following morning and find him sleeping on the couch or somewhere in the house,” she said. But Maharaj did not return home that night. At about 3 am, Devika became worried and telephoned relatives telling them her husband failed to return home.

Neighbours, friends and relatives searched several areas where Maharaj usually visits but he was not found.

At about 6 am, the search party went to the bush near a pond behind the house and found his body.

“I still can’t believe this is happening. I still don’t want to believe he is gone,” Devika wept. She said she wished “it was all a dream”.

“Now I would not have him at my side to bring in New Year’s Day and this really hurts.” Investigators believe Maharaj may have slipped and fell into the pond where he drowned. An autopsy is to be performed at the Forensic Science Centre, St James on Tuesday. Penal police are investigating.

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