Ot­to Car­ring­ton

Se­nior Re­porter

ot­to.car­ring­ton@cnc3.co.tt

​

The me­dia was not per­mit­ted to at­tend the fu­ner­al of at­tor­ney Ku­mari Baksh, 60, and her hus­band, law clerk Nasheed Baksh, 67, as the fam­i­ly sought to grieve pri­vate­ly fol­low­ing their trag­ic deaths.

The cou­ple was laid to rest in a solemn cer­e­mo­ny at the Cu­mu­to Masjid, at­tend­ed by close fam­i­ly and friends.

The fam­i­ly, in their re­quest for pri­va­cy, asked that me­dia per­son­nel re­spect and re­frain from at­tend­ing. Guardian Me­dia saw for­mer en­er­gy min­is­ter, Kevin Ram­nar­ine among the mourn­ers and many from the le­gal fra­ter­ni­ty.

The cou­ple was found bru­tal­ly mur­dered in their ran­sacked home on Jan­u­ary 9, a crime that shook the qui­et com­mu­ni­ty of Guat­a­pa­jaro Road, off Caratal Road, Cu­mu­to. Their bod­ies were dis­cov­ered by a con­cerned rel­a­tive who went to check on them af­ter re­peat­ed unan­swered calls.

Up­on ar­riv­ing at the home, the rel­a­tive found it with­out elec­tric­i­ty and in dis­ar­ray.

Ku­mari was dis­cov­ered ly­ing in a pool of blood in the liv­ing room, while Nasheed was found face down on a bed in one of the bed­rooms. Both had been bound and gagged. Po­lice sus­pect rob­bery as the mo­tive but have yet to de­ter­mine what, if any­thing, was stolen from the cou­ple’s home.

They were well-re­gard­ed with­in their com­mu­ni­ty, known for their kind­ness and strong re­li­gious faith.

Their vi­o­lent deaths have left neigh­bours and loved ones grap­pling with grief and fear.

Au­thor­i­ties have since in­creased pa­trols in the area as in­ves­ti­ga­tions con­tin­ue.