A Princes Town taxi driver broke down in tears after arsonists set fire to his car which he had intended to work to earn extra Christmas cash for his family.
Rakesh Gunness, 40, who is also a labourer with the Ministry of Works, was clueless as to why someone would want to destroy his car or his father’s vehicle. The two arsonists had also planned to burn his father’s vehicle. They had already broken the window and poured gasoline inside it when they were interrupted.
The cars—Nissan B15s—were parked in front of the house at Garth Road.
Video footage shows around 3am two men breaking the window of both vehicles and pouring a liquid into it.
Gunness’s vehicle was set on fire, but they heard noises and ran off before they could the same thing to his father’s car.
Gunness recalled: “My uncle call me and say my car on fire. The car on fire. When I ran out, I saw the car on fire.” He sprayed down the car with water and out it before the fire brigade came.
“On checking, we see a gas container and we see other things like how this window was burst in this (father) car and we assume somebody try to light it.”
The inside of Gunness’s car was completely destroyed while the interior of his father’s car was soaked with gasoline.
He said they retrieved footage from their neighbour’s cameras and were able to see exactly what transpired.
Recalling the incident, Gunness’s father, Ganesh Maharaj, 77, a retired watchman with the Ministry of Works, said when he heard the commotion he walked as fast as he could and saw his son putting out the fire.
He said gasoline was dripping from his vehicle and a gasoline-soaked cloth was hanging from the door.
Both father and son said they are baffled as to why anyone would want to destroy their vehicles.
“All I studying, why they do that? I feel worried. I studying I parking car here for more than 45, 50 years and first time thing happen to me.”
Gunness said neither he nor his dad had any dispute with anyone.
“It have to be spite or something. I had no fall out with anybody,” said Gunness. Breaking down in tears, he lamented.
“I does make my lil extra dollar with that. That was my Christmas thing so everything gone. I have nothing. Right now I paying loan, all my money is go in loan.”
While he was not fearful for his life, Gunness, who is married and has a nine-year-old daughter, sobbed: “I just studying my family because is Christmas time, a lil extra money.”
The police responded, took a report and photos of the vehicles, but Gunness said the police told them they could not dust the vehicles for fingerprints. He was not confident that the assailants would be arrested.
Princes Town police are investigating. (SW)