Guards beaten, fire at Caroni

Arson is suspected in an early morning fire that ripped through Caroni (1975) Limited’s Human Resource Department, Industrial Relations and Training Departments at Sevilla House, Brechin Castle, yesterday.

According to police reports, around 1 am, two Caroni watchmen Ramjit Subhag and Joanas Sampat were on duty when they were accosted by two men, one of whom was armed with a gun. The intruders beat and tied up Subhag and Sampat and left them on the floor of the guard hut. A few minutes later, a loud explosion rocked the building housing the company’s Human Resource and Personnel Departments. A statement by The Board and Management of Caroni (1975) Limited revealed that neighbours alerted the police on hearing the explosions. When the police arrived they found the company’s security guards beaten and tied up and one of the buildings ablaze. Fire officers from the Couva Fire Station responded and quickly extinguished the fire which destroyed the eastern half of the building.

The police also found empty gasoline containers near the site, the statement said. Sevilla House is also the building in which all the company’s employee records are kept, and documents pertaining to the company’s VSEP offer, including acceptance letters and queries, were being received and stored. When contacted, Caroni’s CEO William Washington denied claims that the VSEP packages were being stored there saying that they were removed from the building at the end of each working day and stored at another location. He said fire officers had advised against entering the building until investigations surrounding the source of the fire had been completed. Washington said the fire would not affect the company’s April 3 deadline for receiving VSEP applications by workers.

At 6 pm, yesterday, a statement revealed, the Industrial Court granted the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers’ Trade Union (ATSGWTU) an injunction restraining Caroni (1975) Limited from implementing its VSEP offer for daily paid employees. The company is currently considering the implications of that order in consultation with its Shareholder and its Attorneys. In the statement, The Board and Management of Caroni expressed their deep concern in regard to destruction of the company’s offices and the danger and bodily harm faced by its security personnel who were on duty at their location at the time of the blaze. The company wishes to advise that alternative arrangements are being made for accommodation of the departments and personnel affected by the fire, and steps taken to reinforce security in general throughout Caroni’s estate and operations.