Snatched soldier found handcuffed to tree behind army facility

TWO days after being dragged from his vehicle in the presence of his  helpless wife and child, kidnapped soldier Timothy Ramnanan was rescued by police who received a call from a man who found Ramnanan handcuffed to a tree in Ste Madeleine yesterday morning. Ramnanan who suffered minor cuts and bruises was yesterday reunited with relieved relatives, who police disclosed, did not pay any of the $1.2M ransom demanded for his release. A relative of the kidnapped soldier promised to give some monetary reward to labourer Richard Bisnath, who made the discovery. However, investigators are puzzled over the fact that the kidnapped soldier was found in some bushes at the back of a building which formerly housed the defunct Caroni 1975 Ltd Ste Madeleine Sports Club, but now houses soldiers who are in training.

Police say they are equally puzzled that a hole in a fence at the back of the building led to a freshly made track which in turn led to the kidnapped soldier who was handcuffed to a tree. These circumstances, police said, leave them wondering if Private Ramnanan’s colleagues in the Defence Force may have had a hand in the kidnapping. However, police sources were quick to point out that they were not pointing fingers at anyone. At least, not yet. Police were summoned to the scene by a 27-year-old father of one who was walking en route to work around 6 am yesterday at Ste Madeleine Sugar Factory when he heard Ramnanan’s cries for help.