Cops probe death of boy, 9

LITTLE Narad Mootilal wept on his hospital bed at the Sangre Grande Hospital yesterday as he asked why his brother Sharma did not visit him. His parents, Suresh and Sally Mootilal were told they should not tell Narad that Sharma, nine, was dead.

When Newsday visited the family’s Kernaham Village, Mayaro home yesterday evening, family members were still struggling to understand what happened to Sharma. Police said Suresh checked on Sharma at 5 am yesterday and discovered him face down on his pillow and in an unresponsive state.

The boys were asleep in their respective rooms when electricity went at 1 am. Newsday was told both bedrooms are sealed and the windows are kept shut since the surrounding area is swampland and mosquitoes swarm inside the home if any window or door is left open.

Relatives said they believe when the fans stopped working when the power went led to both boys stifling in their rooms. While police said they do not suspect foul play, they will await the findings of an autopsy to be done today to determine how they will move forward with their investigation.

Sharma’s grandmother Molly Ramlakhan told Newsday, “the parents put them to sleep last night like usual and about one o’clock this morning the current went. This morning when he (Molly’s son Suresh) noticed they were not awake, he went to check on them and saw Sharma with his face down in the pillow and not moving. He bawl and call Sally and she went in the next room and tried to wake up Narad but he wasn’t getting up either.”

The frantic parents grabbed both boys and ran to their car, taking them to the Mayaro Health Centre where Sharma was pronounced dead on arrival while Narad was treated and transferred to Sangre Grande Hospital. Ramlakhan said when she saw the front yard strewn with pillows and bedsheets, she knew something was wrong.

“I see the bedsheets fling in the yard and the boys’ bedrooms scattered. But it was only when I called my son that he said Sharma had passed away,” Ramlakhan said.