Ganga Singh calls for vigilante groups

IN THE WAKE of the brutal murder of Ashmead Baksh, Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday predicted that the crime situation in the country was going to get worse. And UNC MP for Caroni East Ganga Singh called on citizens to form vigilante groups and hire mercenaries to protect themselves. The UNC leader and the MP made the comments mere hours after Baksh’s burnt body, bearing two bullet wounds and a chop wound to the head, was found dumped on the side of the road in a forested area at Platanite Road, Barrackpore.

Baksh, the son of UNC MP for Naparima, Nizam Baksh, was kidnapped on Friday evening after he left home to visit a job site in the village. Kidnappers made three phone calls to the family later that night, demanding a $5 million ransom. They never contacted the family again. Ashmead Baksh, 30, was a mechanical engineer who worked in his father’s contracting firm. He had no children and had been married for the past three years. The Opposition Leader and Singh were among several members of the UNC executive who went to the house of mourning after receiving word of the brutal slaying of their colleagues’ son. Panday said what was happening in the country was the clearest indication that the Government had no plan, will or desire to solve crime. “The PNM cannot solve crime because they are part of the criminal activity,” he said, adding that the “Minister of National Security was worse than his predecessor.... something I thought was not possible. The police are involved in crime and the Government knows about it,” he charged.

Singh said citizens gave up their rights in order for the Government of the day to protect and serve them. Having regard to the high rate of murders and kidnapping in the country over the last two years, it was now necessary for citizens to retrieve that right from the State and organise themselves into vigilante groups he said. “Those who cannot afford to organise protection for themselves, should perhaps hire mercenary groups to protect them because the State has failed in its duty to protect and serve citizens of the country. He added that Ashmead Baksh was a model citizen and we should use his death to take back the country from criminals and criminal activity.

Also expressing his dissatisfaction with the Government’s failure to deal with the crime situation was, UNC MP for Fyzabad, Chandresh Sharma who said it was clear that the PNM administration was not a caring Government. Reports reaching Newsday state that two suspects were held in Ashmead Baksh’s killing. They were being interrogated at the Barrackpore Police Station up to late yesterday.