6 in court for staging kidnap

Saroop and Radica Boodram, 14, Aleem Ali,17, Matthew Ramadin, Randy Baldeo, both 16 years old; and Kevin McIntosh, whose 17th birthday was yesterday, appeared in the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court before Deputy Chief Magistrate Mark Wellington.

Saroop, and the five, of Marabella, San Fernando and Gasparillo, are accused of conspiring to defraud money from Saroop’s 50-year-old mother, Patricia. Saroop and Boodram are classmates and are due to enter Form Three at the San Fernando Secondary Comprehensive School on Monday’s re-opening of school. Saroop was slapped with an additional charge of wasteful employment of the police. Wellington said that both charges were laid indictably and the accused six were not called on to enter a plea. The charges were laid by acting Cpl Michael Pierre of the Marabella CID. Saroop and Ali were represented by attorney Chaitram Sinanan. Prakash Ramadhar represented Ramadin, while Baldeo and McIntosh were represented by Ravi Gooljar.

McIntosh was granted $50,000 bail by Wellington. The others had been granted $50,000 bail on Wednesday by a Justice of the Peace at the Marabella Police Station. They had been detained at the station since Tuesday on their arrest. Gooljar complained to Wellington about the refusal of bail to McIntosh, as the others had received bail. Gooljar then made an application for bail.

As the six teenagers stood outside the docks in the courtroom, their parents and relatives looked on at proceedings from the public gallery. Saroop’s mother, Patricia, who is the victim in the criminal charges being prosecuted by the State, walked into the courtroom.

Saroop turned up at Happy Hill, Gasparillo, on Sunday — some 18 days after police began to investigate a report that he had been kidnapped. Relatives had reported him missing on August 9, from his Circular Avenue home at Union Road.

The charges arose out of an incident in which Saroop’s mother Patricia, received telephone calls in which persons demanded ransom sums varying from $8 million to $750,000. Patricia, a cashier at a racing pool outlet, begged for her son’s release, saying that she did not have money to pay a ransom.