Latest update November 21st, 2024 1:00 AM
Gunned down at a traffic light..Death of accused killer brings no solace to slain man’s family
“I miss my dad every day. I wanted him to see his hard work paying off, wanted him to see his daughters rising above his expectations…” – daughter, Vineta Ragghu
Gunned down by bandits at a Vlissengen Road stop-light almost two years ago, Ashok Ragghu’s murder still haunts his family.
August 18, 2014, began ordinarily enough for the Ragghu household.
Vineta Ragghu, the older of two children, recalled having breakfast with her father at their Campbellville home. She recalls kissing him, to reassure him that “everything would be okay,” since the family was dealing with some personal issues.
She remembers that she was to have accompanied her parents that morning into town, but then her father told her to stay back.
A few hours later she was at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation staring in disbelief at his body.
Ragghu, a 43-year-old dredge owner, had picked up his wife from a city bank and was driving south along Vlissengen Road, when he was forced to stop at the traffic light near the Botanical Gardens.
Two men on a CG motorcycle allegedly rode up to the couple’s Toyota Carina, PGG 8291 and tried to relieve the businessman of his money.
A wounded Shyrazadi Ragghu at the GPHC shortly after the attack
Ashok Ragghu’s car at the scene
During the confrontation, the gunmen shot Ragghu in the chest. His wife, Shyrazadi Ragghu, was shot in the right thigh.
The bandits then fled with the businessman’s money and licensed firearm.
Mr. Ragghu was pronounced dead at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.
Just around 21 at the time, Vineta recalls seeing her father’s body at the GPHC’s Accident and Emergency Unit.
“I put my hand on my father’s chest. The thought that he would not wake up came to me.”
Her dad was the family’s main provider, so his loss hit them financially as well.
“He was the sole bread-winner of our home and the only male figure. The way he was taken away has created a scar that would never go away. I saw my dad working day to night and night to day before he could have achieved anything in his life. When we were finally having family time, when we were finally feeling the bliss of being a family, we lost him. And not only did we lose him, we lost what we had.
“Our hearts were left broken, and my mum, who was a witness and victim of the act, is left in a state of mind that I can’t even explain.
“My mom was in bed for eight months. After my dad died, she was and still isn’t in a state to do anything. She is so lost; she doesn’t even have the courage to socialize anymore.
“Not only were our hearts broken, our family was broken. Our lives were turned upside down and even to date, we find it hard to reclaim the kind of stability we once had.”
Police charged Jermaine Otto, then 25, and Travis McDougall, with Mr. Ragghu’s murder and the attack on his wife. Otto was among the 17 prisoners who perished in the fiery Camp Street Prison riot two Thursdays ago.
Vinetta admits that the sight of the families of the dead inmates protesting their demise upset her.
“The families of those who died never wondered about the families their relatives (allegedly) destroyed,” she said.
“Their voices are being heard, but who is hearing the voices of those who grieve while trying to recuperate and live with what’s left?”
Since her father’s death, Vinetta has graduated from University. Her younger sister, just 19 at the time of the tragedy, is married.
Satisfying moments…except her dad was not there.
“I miss my dad every day. I wanted him to see his hard work paying off, wanted him to see his daughters rising above his expectations.
“I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree last year, and he was not there. My sister married and he was not there.”
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