Chaguanas businessman kidnapped at gunpoint

Residents of Lendore Village, in Chaguanas, say they are in shock and fear after a businessman from the community was kidnapped at gunpoint on November 21.

An eyewitness, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Newsday that around 1 pm on Thursday, businessman Shastri Anand Rampersad was standing in front ofhis  house, opposite his businessplace,  Jit’s Quarry.

He had just got out of his car and was talking to friends, including the eyewitness, when a car pulled up and two men wearing masks and brandishing guns got out and confronted Rampersad. They forced him into their car before speeding off.

A resident called the police, who arrived about 15 minutes later and found Rampersad's phone and a key on the front seat of his vehicle, which had been left idling. The eyewitness said police ordered them not to touch anything including Rampersad's car, telling them: "Whenever it cut off (the car's engine), it cut off."

The eyewitness described Rampersad as a "people person," and a nice man who would talk to everybody in the community. Residents later told the Newsday the kidnapping had them in shock since, to their knowledge, Rampersad had no enemies and was not involved in illegal activities.

"He is the kind of person, if you didn't have the money (to pay) he would give you the aggregate material until you were able to pay him. That's the kind of person he is," a resident said.

No one interviewed wanted to give their names for fear of reprisals from the kidnappers.

Residents described the area as peaceful and relatively crime-free.

"Nothing like this has happened here, to the best of my knowledge. Right now, there is tension in the air. People are in shock because someone we know has been kidnapped. Things like this don't happen in this area."

The eyewitness said the area was very quiet when the incident took place, and none of Rampersad's relatives were home at the time. No one came to the front of Rampersad's house – which was locked up – when this reporter called out, trying to get an interview.

Central Division police remained tight-lipped over the incident and would not say if a ransom demand had been made.