Villagers know who committed act, relatives say

“People in the village talking and fingers are pointing but their family members are protecting them,” one aggrieved relative told Newsday yesterday. “It was a wicked act but we not taking that so and will talk to whoever we have to talk to, to get justice.” The men’s faces were painted with make-up, their eyebrows were shaved off and one of them had their hair fashioned into a pony tail. An autopsy performed at the Forensic Science Center, St James revealed that death was due to acute poisoning. It is believed that the men had ingested deadly cocktails after eating a meal. Both were known alcoholics in the village.

Relatives believe the men were too drunk to notice that their drinks were poisoned. Maharaj, a father of three and grandfather of one, and Motilal who was single and unmarried, both lived in Tarouba Village, Tarouba and were last seen, hours before their deaths, drinking outside their favourite village watering hole “Las Vegas Recreation Club” which is located a short distance away from their respective homes. It was reported that at about 6.30 am on November 24, officers of the Marabella Police Station on were on mobile patrol and observed two men lying in an embrace on top of each other.

Their bodies were held together with a piece of rope which passed through the loops of their pants.

Further checks revealed that the men were dead. The rope had been cut from a Local Government election United National Congress (UNC) banner which was strung between two utility poles near the bar.

The relative said there are as many as three cameras installed on the junction where the incident occurred.

He said, “We were hoping that at least police could get something from one of the cameras.

Every time we ask them they say they are still investigating.” When contacted yesterday, a senior police officer said that investigations were still continuing along certain lines to determine whether or not the men committed suicide or were murdered.