Grieving cop wanted drowned son to follow in his footsteps

LOOKING on as his son’s body was retrieved from a river in Woodland yesterday, father of five and policeman Jaglal Singh said he had dreams of his 16-year-old son following in his footsteps and joining the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service. But Constable Singh’s dream was shattered when his son, Govinda, a pupil of the Siparia Senior Secondary School drowned in the Oropouche river on Tuesday, after he and nine schoolmates hired a maxi-taxi and went to lime at a picnic site near the river.Govinda, of  Penal Rock Road, drowned while bathing in the murky waters. His body was recovered around 9.30 am yesterday by Coast Guard divers after a brief search. Investigators said the body bore bruises to the face. Govinda and his friends decided to go and lime after they had written examinations. With tears in his eyes, Singh, 53, a police constable attached to the Princes Town police station, questioned why no one could have rescued his son, since his (Govinda’s) body was recovered around the same spot where he disappeared.  He said the children went to the picnic site without the knowledge and permission of their parents and teachers. Describing Govinda as his favourite son and “the light of the household,” the grieving cop said the youngster had recently started learning how to swim. Singh said his wife, Sushilla, 44, was in denial that her son had drowned.