News
A bicycle, a brush cutter and other equipment belonging to Ricky and Rishi Bhagawat were damaged in an arson attack at their home on Tarouba Road on Thursday night. – AYANNA KINSALE
A gunman shot and wounded a 57-year-old man and his son as they tried to save themselves from a fire at their home in Tarouba on July 12.
Up to the evening of July 12, Ricky Bhagawat and his son Rishi Bhagawat, 24, were in stable condition at the San Fernando General Hospital.
The family is now fearful for their lives, as they believe that the gunman and other accomplices tried to wipe out the entire family as they slept. Seven people, including a six-year-old boy, were in the house.
A relative, who asked not to be named, recalled that shortly before 4 am, the family was awakened to find their two-bedroom wooden structure at Tarouba Road engulfed in flames.
A nearby storeroom and another adjoining structure were also set ablaze. No one was in those two.
The attackers had poured flammable liquid on the three structures and set them ablaze.
The father and son ran out of the burning house to put on a pipe for water to put out the flames. Unknown to them, a man was nearby, and he fired three shots before leaving.
Bhagawat cuts grass and does handy work to make ends meet. His brush cutters, which were in the storeroom, were burnt.
Rishi works in a tyre shop.
The relative said, “Who did this came to kill because they did not take anything. They lit everything downstairs that they could have. The flooring has many holes, so when they look down, they saw fire.
“There was a lot of smoke and fire, making it diffident to see properly.”
They added, “We cannot say why this happened because we do not make bacchanal with anyone. We never expected anything like this to happen. We lost everything.”
The family showed a bottle with a flammable liquid that the attackers left behind.
Fire officers from the Mon Repos Fire Station responded within minutes and put out the flames.
Marabella police also responded and searched for the suspects.
The police do not have a motive.
Investigations are ongoing.
