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Relatives: Selfless Carapo man was killed by extortionists

Ryan Christopher Bharatt was a selfless, determined, entrepreneurial man, one who would give his last to help out his fellow man. But relatives believe his life was cut short because he decided to stand up to a gang of extortionists who threatened his family, his safety and his life for years. Relatives spoke to Newsday on July 20, a day after he was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the midst of a state of emergency (SoE) put in place to stop an anticipated flood of murders, kidnappings and robberies. “He would give his last to people he would see on the street,” said a relative. “He would see people just having fun and liming and he might hand them $400 and say, ‘Allyuh bless up yuhself.’ “The floods in Oropune and St Helena, he would load up his truck with things and go to help. I might cook and he would drive through the flood or go on his dinghy and help people with water and transport. “One lady, I think she was homeless, he picked her up while she was pregnant and had other children and helped her with a car to move around with. “He was always doing charitable work for people. He was always giving. He was outgoing, ambitious, and consistent. Whatever goals he could set his mind to he would do it.” Relatives told Newsday Bharatt would buy and sell used vehicles for a living. The relative said, having grown up in a garage, he would take old vehicles, bring it back to a driveable and workable condition and resell them. The relative said he also did this with trucks, which he used for transport services. She said he was also a progressive thinker, involving women in his service and giving them opportunities as well. “He just wanted women to stand out in the world,” the relative said. “He got his wife, his sister-in-law and other women to drive these trucks.” “He didn’t take days off at all. He would work through holidays. No matter what time he came from work or finished driving trucks, he would work in the garage until he got sleepy. He would be up until one o’ clock then wake up at five and hit the road again.” But extortionists began threatening him for money and for cars. Relatives said he gave in at first, but it still was not enough for the gangs in the area. “They threatened his family. They said they will plant things on him or make him lose this or that, or get him locked up just to get rid of him. But he said he wasn’t going to hide. He would face them. “If they asked for money he would give them. But after a while he said, 'Listen, if they want me they will get me'. He was just a brave young man.” Police reports said at around 12.48 am on July 19, police got a report from Command Centre of a shooting on Church Street Carapo. First responders went to the scene and when they arrived, they saw a man, later identified as Bharatt lying on the ground. He had been shot in the head. Bharatt was taken to the Arima General Hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 1.14 am. Police were later told at about 12.30 am he was at his house and went outside to move his car when a single gunshot was heard. Relatives ran out of the house to see what happened and found him with a gunshot wound to his head. Carapo unsafe, says relatives Relatives said this was not the first time they lost family at the hands of criminals. Four years ago, 23-year-old Andrea Bharatt, a graduate of the University of the West Indies and clerk at the Arima Magistrates’ Court, entered a taxi on King Street in Arima. But she never got home. Her body was found eight days later, down a precipice in the Heights of Aripo. “That is our cousin,” the relative said. “That is the children of two brothers now dead.” The relative added that her daughter’s father, Darren Periera, was also gunned down by criminals. “He got 35 shots in his home,” the relative said. “That is two houses away from our family’s house.” Wracked by tragedy at the hands of criminals, the relative said the family now lives in fear, waiting for the next person to end up dead or missing. “Right now we are like sitting ducks because we don’t have police escorts, we don’t have a police post, we don’t have any police presence in the area. We don’t even get patrols.” The relative called for a police post in the area, but noted that, for them, they are too afraid to continue living in that area. “My mum is about to sell her home,” the relative said. “Even if she had second thoughts before, she wants to do it more, now that Ryan is dead. She is saying that she wants nothing, she just wants to get out. “We have family in the United States that can’t come to the area because they fear crime. They don’t feel safe coming here at all.” The relative said their family is not the only ones being targeted by criminals. The entire Carapo area, particularly in and around Race Course Road, has become a breeding ground for criminals because of poor infrastructure and neglect by the police, relatives told Newsday. “It is young little boys who grew up right there in the area, who have formed these gangs. “Police might be saying let them kill out each other – and they actually do – but if the police know who they are, they should go and take their guns. “Things are not looking better. I am not even hopeful from this situation. We live in fear. My daughter lives in fear since they gunned down her father in that house. She cannot even visit the area. She grew up in that area and now she is afraid to even walk into the property because she fears for her life.” The post Relatives: Selfless Carapo man was killed by extortionists appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.