​Mayaro arsonist’s death saddens homeless family

The death of the 61-year-old man from Mayaro accused of trying to wipe out an entire family, including three minors, by setting the house on fire with them inside, has saddened them.

Amit Bahadoor said on Monday on behalf of the family, “We are sad he did not live to pay for his actions.

"We did not seek revenge when we caught him because we wanted the law to deal with him. We wanted him to spend some time in jail.

“Now we are feeling lost. We do not know what is next. We never expected him to burn down the house with us inside. We lost everything in the fire, and it is hard to rebuild on our own.”

A friend has given the family temporary accommodation.

Ramsaran Kowlesser, of Mafeking Road in Mayaro, was in custody at the Eastern Correctional Rehabilitation Centre at Santa Rosa, Arima, under suicide watch.

Prisons Commissioner Deopersad Ramoutar said officers had been monitoring him since he was brought to the facility last week.

Speaking on the i95 FM news on Monday, Ramoutar recalled that on Sunday, he received a report from officers that around 1.45 pm, Kowlesser was found with a weak pulse, and they tried to revive him.

He was taken to the Arima Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Ramoutar added that there were no signs of foul play.

The report said officers had checked on him at around 1.15 pm and again at 1.25 pm on Sunday.

Kowlesser was denied bail and remanded into custody by Mayaro magistrate Debby Ann Bassaw, charged with eight counts of attempted murder.

At 2.30 am on November 13, Anisha Bahadoor, 34, heard a sound from her bedroom window and looked outside.

She saw Kowlesser, who lived across the street, in the yard. He threw a liquid over her and threw a lit Molotov cocktail at her, setting her on fire.

Other family members were alerted and ran out of the burning house.

They later saw Kowlesser trying to get into the house, but rescued and held him until the police arrived.

The entire house was destroyed.

On November 15, PC Farley of the Mayaro CID charged Kowlesser.

Up to Monday, Anisha was still hospitalised.

The family is grateful that no one died in the fire. Bahadoor said his father, 71, and mother, 52, and the rest of the family are still traumatised.

He praised everyone who has been helping them with food and other items.

Bahadoor added: “We are trying to (make) do with what little we have.

"We do not know what plans God has for us. My prayer right now is for God to send the right people to help us with a home.

"I applied for a Housing Development Corporation house about six years ago. A few days ago, a representative reached out to me. I think the HDC is working on something.

"The children lost their toys, laptops and other devices and are asking for them.”

Anyone willing to donate to the family can do so via https://gofund.me/f66aa3d0 or via Amit Bahadoor’s (Mayaro Republic Bank) account no 470464365401.