‘I will not be intimidated’

CRIME VICTIM: UNC councillor Vandana Mohit, seen in this photo from her Facebook page, had her Cunupia home and her pick-up van shot at on Monday.
CRIME VICTIM: UNC councillor Vandana Mohit, seen in this photo from her Facebook page, had her Cunupia home and her pick-up van shot at on Monday.

DESCRIBING a shooting attack on her home as a brazen act of intimidation, Vandana Mohit says she will not be deterred from carrying out her duties as a councillor.

Although Mohit, 27, said she cannot reveal details of the incident which she believes led to the attack, she told Newsday that she had recently spoken out about suspected corrupt practices. Mohit is the councillor for Cunupia in the Chaguanas Borough Corporation.

Mohit and her mother were asleep at their Cunupia home at 9.35pm on Monday when they heard gunshots. She said the shooting lasted about 25 seconds and in that time, the outside walls of her home and her pick-up were shot at 14 times.

“My mom and I had just gone to bed and approximately five minutes later, we started hearing loud explosions…at that time we just held on to each other,” Mohit said. She called the Cunupia Police and when officers arrived five minutes later, Mohit said she was shocked to see the damage the gunmen caused.

“I saw my van was shot at. There are bullet holes across the entire front of the house, all along the side. It seems as though they ran into the yard and just began shooting wildly.”

Newsday spoke to several neighbours who said they saw a silver-coloured Nissan Tiida speeding away from Mohit’s home. She said surveillance footage of the incident has been passed on to police and she is keeping the faith that the officers will catch those responsible.

Although very much shaken, Mohit who became a local government representative at 21, says she will not give into attempts to intimidate her. “This is the first time something like this has happened to me so of course I feel a bit traumatised but I will never be deterred from serving my burgess as I was elected to do so and I will not be intimidated by this act.”

In a release yesterday, Local Government Minister Haji Kazim Hosein condemned the attack against Mohit. Hosein said he was shocked and horrified by the shooting at the councillor’s home. UNC Senator Khadijah Ameen said any attack against elected representatives, whether UNC or PNM, is “totally unacceptable.” She said the UNC is shocked by the incident and hopes it was not politically motivated.

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