News Narissa Fraser 6 hours agoAnand Maharaj
In just under six hours, a family’s wedding joy turned into misery and grief over the weekend when the bride’s uncle was murdered days before the eagerly anticipated celebration.
60-year-old Gasparillo businessman Anand Maharaj was found dead on Saturday with a customer wrapped in plastic and duct tape and pushed under a couch.
The customer, who rented a car from Maharaj, is currently in police custody and is the prime suspect in his investigation.
Maharaj was the owner of Triple-A Auto Services Ltd on Jeffers Lane, Charles Street, Gasparillo, where he also lived.
The company specializes in car rentals, mechanical repairs, air conditioning repairs, and diagnostic scans, among others.
Police said Maharaj left home around 1 p.m. to deliver the car – a silver Nissan Note – to the customer.
He never returned. After all calls to his cell phone went unanswered, the police went to the suspect’s home and interviewed him. He was then arrested.
Newsday understands that the landlady initially refused entry to the police and started swearing and arguing with them.
The police later returned and found Maharaj’s body.
On Sunday morning, Maharaj’s brother Taran Maharaj told media representatives that the suspect had previously rented cars from the store. He said his sister-in-law received several text messages from her husband shortly before 7pm asking them to buy dinner and “buy a few dollars.
“She said she called another worker and he couldn’t get through with him … We came down here and the police came.
“I have to say the police were (sic) really efficient. And one of the workers who knew my brother went with the police to show him where he was going to take the car … He knows this one Guy.”
The man had the keys to the rented vehicle, which was tracked down with GPS.
Taran said his family was not getting on well and greeted his brother as a hardworking man.
His last conversation with the father of three was on Saturday morning when he came to do an oil change on his vehicle.
He said it was mostly “fun old talk”.
“He’s a very hard worker. He’s tried everything from lawn maintenance to car repairs to car rental. He tried everything
“He did well, his children are well educated, scholarship holders.”
He said he sent his brother a WhatsApp message shortly before 6 p.m. about one of the managers at her previous workplace who had died.
“The message was read because I saw the blue ticks. But apparently someone else read the message, not him.
“It’s hard. That wedding was supposed to be Easter Sunday last year, and then came the first lockdown … They finally set it for next Sunday, and now we have another lockdown … And worst of all now, Uncle of The child who marries is murdered. “
He said his brother was a police officer for three years and then worked as a plant manager at the Fertrin ammonia plant in Point Lisas, but was fired. Then he went into business for himself.
Taran said he too had his “fair share” of dealing with criminals when he shot and killed one of four bandits who broke into his home two years ago.
Since then, he said, his family has set up burglar alarm systems for cameras in their homes and built GPS into all vehicles.
“It’s a very delicate investigation, so we didn’t get a lot of information from the police. So far no motive. “
He said he did not believe his brother was shot when the suspect’s neighbors said they did not hear any gunshots.
Several people have paid tribute to Maharaj on social media, including Anil Ramjit, President of the Gasparillo Chamber of Commerce. He said it was daunting.
“Like most business owners, he struggled to build a business that put food on the table, created jobs and a service for the community and the country as a whole. Many do not understand the sleepless nights and 24-hour working days it takes to keep their business alive. After many years of hard work, success and sweat were stolen from his forehead.
“He was the vice president of the Gasparillo Business Association, the predecessor of the Gasparillo Chamber of Commerce.”
When Newsday visited the suspect’s home – an apartment – the landlady was interviewed by police.
Residents were afraid to speak to the media about the incident, but said the suspect had two children.
Newsday believes the suspect worked for a US-based company, but due to the Covid19 pandemic, operations have ceased and he has been awarded a scholarship.
While trying to find the apartment complex, the drivers told Newsday they had just heard the news, which was shocking as it is a “quiet community”.
On Sunday at around 2 a.m., a tow truck took the rented vehicle off the premises.
Sometime this week, an autopsy will be performed on Maharaj’s body at the Forensic Science Center in St. James.
The investigation continues.
