Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 23/Sep 05:06

Arson victim goes to court over police delays

Nearly six years after her home was burglarised, set ablaze, and her two dogs killed in the fire, 56-year-old Kamal Seunarine says she is still waiting for justice. In a claim which seeks a declaration that her rights to equality and protection of the law have been violated, Seunarine says the police service has failed to properly investigate her case. Seunarine said she was at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, on November 11, 2019, for blood tests and a heart check-up when neighbours alerted her that her home was engulfed in flames. She rushed to the scene but arrived to find her house reduced to rubble. Despite repeated calls, the lawsuit contends the police never came. Hours later, she reported the crime in person at the Freeport Police Station. The lawsuit said she was assured a full investigation would follow. Instead, Seunarine alleges she has faced years of silence, delays, bureaucratic neglect and disregard. “This incident financially crippled and emotionally traumatised me for years,” Seunarine wrote in an affidavit. “The destruction of my home, the place where I lived, kept memories and felt safe, was an emotionally shattering experience.” The claim said that weeks after the arson, three men were arrested in connection with a violent supermarket robbery. Among the stolen goods later recovered was Seunarine’s printer. She was called to identify her belongings, which she did on December 21, 2019. The lawsuit also said on the same day, one of the men allegedly confessed that he was paid $10,000 to burn down the house. He also allegedly told her he was willing to give her information for $50,000. She was told by the police that the alleged confession was insufficient to lay charges, but promised to investigate further. With no progress on the police’s investigation and her health worsening, she complained to the Police Complaints Authority (PCA). A year later, PCA deputy director Michelle Solomon-Baksh referred the matter to the Commissioner of Police for further action, possible disciplinary action against the investigating officer and for a new investigator to be appointed. In February 2020, days before travelling to New York to visit her daughter, Seunarine followed up at the Freeport Police Station only to learn no progress had been made. Nine days into her trip, she suffered chest pains and had quadruple bypass surgery. Then the pandemic shut TT’s borders, stranding her abroad. She later contracted the virus and suffered a stroke that left her partially paralysed and confined to a wheelchair. She applied to return home through the Ministry of National Security in October 2020 but was not approved until February 2021. While abroad, Seunarine repeatedly contacted the police but received only vague assurances. Since returning to Trinidad, Seunarine’s health has worsened. She suffers from diabetes, kidney failure and requires thrice-weekly dialysis. She reapplied for a disability assistance grant but was denied based on her one-year absence during the pandemic. Divorced and living alone, her lawsuit said she survives on limited support from her daughters and friends. Often, she says, she eats one meal a day, sometimes going hungry or drinking “sugar water” despite her diabetes. “I feel alone, depressed and helpless due to my declining health, isolation, lack of funds and failure by the State to assist me,” she said. In March 2024, frustrated by years of inaction, Seunarine’s lawyers, led by Anand Ramlogan, SC, sent a pre-action protocol letter and a freedom of information request to the police for answers. After delays, she received responses in 2024 and 2025. However, she said these responses revealed there was no record of her report in the Freeport Police Station’s occurrence register. The only substantive investigative step taken was the recording of initial witness statements. The police claimed delays were caused by the investigator being shot and placed on leave, without clarifying when or who took over the investigation. As of April 2025, nearly six years later, the investigation remained “ongoing.” To get answers, Seunarine’s attorneys initiated FOIA proceedings. Soon after, she was contacted by another officer who said he was tasked with investigating her matter. This was in July, and she has not heard from him since. Seunarine has since filed two High Court actions against the commissioner of police over the police’s delays and refusal to disclose full investigative records. “The perpetrators have not been prosecuted. Instead, I have been forced to relive the emotional trauma of losing everything every time I follow up with the TTPS,” she said. She is also represented by Jayanti Lutchmedial-Ramdial, Natasha Bisram, Kent Samlal and Aasha Ramlal. The post Arson victim goes to court over police delays appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.