Sita Ragoonanan was summoned as a witness in the Balram “Balo” Maharaj hostage trial in Washington DC on June 22. But she did not go to give details about the Maharaj kidnapping, but her own. She was kidnapped two months after Maharaj, and kept in a shack for six nights before she was rescued by police officers. Ragoonanan was brought to the trial by the US Government to show “similar fact” evidence, meaning a pattern of kidnappings which were taking place within a six-month period.

Ragoonanan, 46, works at a pharmacy as a dispensary assistant. In June 2005, she was employed at Ali’s Pharmacy, Valpark Shopping Plaza. She remembered June 21, 2005. She started work at midday, and finished at 8 pm. She was dropped at the bottom of Agostini Street, Curepe. Her home was a short distance away. She was carrying a lunch bag and a handbag. “As I was going up the hill, a car came from behind and drove up the hill,” Ragoonanan said. “I didn’t make anything of it because I thought it was one of the residents who lived on the street. As I was about to go into the driveway, three men jumped out of the car and grabbed me. I fell into a ditch. They pulled me into the back seat of a car. There were two other men in the back seat. “They said I shouldn’t scream or shout or they would shoot. They drove for about 20 to 30 minutes. I came out of the car and I was told I should look down. I was then blindfolded. I was told to walk...at one time I had to be carried.

“When we reached, they spread a sheet of plastic and I was told to sit. I was given a track pants and a long-sleeved jersey. They told me that I should put on these clothing because the area had a lot of mosquitoes. “I remained there that night, and the next morning I was taken to a shack. I stayed there for six days and six nights. At any one time, there were no more than two people at the camp. I was allowed to go towards a container and freshen up.” Ragoonanan said she was told to make a plea to her husband that he should pay $1million and that he should not get the police involved, and that her life was in his hands. She said she was kept blindfolded, but when she looked down, she was able to see someone in camouflage pants and heavy military boots. On June 27, Ragoonanan heard a helicopter which kept circling the area. The man who was guarding here, tied her hands and feet and covered her with a cardboard. Then she heard voices and a dog sniffling. She had to say her name. “They asked who was there and I had to say my name,” she said. “They removed the cardboard and untied me. They were police officers.”

Sergeant Christopher Pamponette, a policeman assigned to the Special Anti-Crime Unit (Sautt), said on June 27, 2005, he attended an informal briefing about an operation that was about to take place. He said it was the recovery of a kidnap hostage, Sita Ragoonanan. There were about 30 people assembled to participate in this operation and rescue. They went to Lower La Canoa Road, Santa Cruz. They broke into groups of two, with acting Sgt Galindo as Pamponette’s partner. In the briefing, it was stated that the victim was about quarter mile into the forested area away from the bridge. The other teams were separated in different locations. After travelling some distance in a forested area, Pamponette said they came upon a makeshift camp which appeared to be camouflaged.

He said: “We saw a man of African descent. The man came out of the camp and stood in front. There was the sound of a helicopter overhead. The man looked in the direction of the helicopter. We kept the man under observation. “As we approached, he looked in our direction and ran. He ran south of the camp. We ran after him, but we lost him in the forested area. We returned to the makeshift camp and saw a group of police officers and army personnel. They were guarding the camp.”