Screams and tears at Felicity funerals

“WHY you had to go like that; you get a second chance in life and why, tell me why, son!” screamed Glenda, mother of Ravi Budhu. She repeated her words of how her son once got a new lease on life, as she held on to the coffin carrying the bullet-riddled body of 15-year-old Budhu. Funeral services were held yesterday in Felicity, Chaguanas, for three of the four youths gunned down Monday night during a police shootout in Freeport. In their Cacandee Road village, cries of anguish filled the air as relatives wept uncontrollably.  Se-arate funeral services were held for neighbours Budhu and his friend, Dennis Roopchand, 20, at their adjacent homes, according to Christian rights. Both were buried at the Felicity Cemetery.

The other youth, 15-year-old Kevin Singh, was cremated at the Lakhan Karriah Cremation Site after a funeral service at Cacandee Road, Felicity. Overwhelmed with grief, Singh’s mother, Rajmatee, stood quietly next to her son’s coffin. His younger sister, Amy Lutchmansingh, begged God to have mercy on Singh. She sobbed, “Oh God, Oh God, have mercy on Kevin. I love you.” Officiating at the ceremony, Pundit Ashmir asked the question, “What influence took control of Kevin to be in that position?” The pundit urged mourners to make God the top priority in their lives. Budhu’s mother, Glenda, told Newsday a sad tale of raising her son. “But I tried so much with him.” She then put a bag with snacks in her son’s coffin.