Indian-origin Priest Shot Dead in Trinidad

A Hindu priest of Indian origin was shot dead at his house at Arouca, a town in Trinidad and Tobago this weekend. Suni Ragbirsingh was killed when he walked in while a robbery was in progress on Nov. 25, the T&T Guardian reported.

When Ragbirsingh reached home, he saw that his wife and her parents were tied up. “I feel, maybe when they were leaving, the men, who had on face coverings, must have removed it when they were leaving and when Sunil walked in he probably saw their faces and that was when they shot him once in the chest. He fell right there and died,” his father-in-law was quoted as saying.

He added that he had closed all the doors and windows before going to sleep. He heard noises from outside his bedroom when he decided to check out the source of the commotion.

“That is when I saw two men with guns standing there. They tied up my wife and I with extension cords and then took us to a room where my daughter (Ragbirsingh’s wife) was already tied up,” he said. An undisclosed amount of cash and jewelry was stolen from their house that night.

Ragbirsingh had been married for three years and had no children. He was described as “the best husband ever,” and “the most humble and kind person.”

His death was mourned by the community in the town. “He was one of the good ones…..it don’t have many like him…..a very humble person. He will be missed by many. …..a village mourns today,” Simi Raghoonanan posted on Facebook.

Ragbirsingh’s last prayer was the Hanuman Chalisa at the Endeavour Temple. He was a full-time priest and “loved what he did. Imagine, he just came home from conducting prayers and was killed. How sad. How terrifying is this to happen in your own home,” his father-in-law said.

Ragbirsingh is said to have been the first person to answer the call for a Kali Yatra in T&T.