TRINIDAD EXPRESS – A  52-year-old safety officer, reportedly in a love affair with teenager Rehana Tisha Nandlal, kept his promise to her and ended his life on Wednesday.
Hydar Mohammed was found frothing inside a relative’s home in Mayaro. He was taken to the Mayaro District Hospital, where he died.
His teenage lover, a Third Form pupil at the Barrackpore East Secondary School, was found unconscious on the steps of a church on Tuesday, a day after she was reported missing by her elder sister with whom she lived. She died on arrival at hospital.
In her diary, Nandlal wrote that she and her lover were planning to kill themselves. Mohammed was a safety officer at the school she attended.
Nandlal’s relatives said she sought guidance from Mohammed, who seduced and had sexual relations with the teen.
Mohammed, of Kanhai Road North Extension, Barrackpore, was married and had two sons—ages 24 and 28.
He was last seen alive on Wednesday when he visited a relative’s house at Union Village, Mayaro. Police said the relative left Mohammed alone in the house. He later received a call that Mohammed had consumed a deadly weedicide.
Mohammed’s brother, Farouk Mohammed, said he was not aware of the relationship between his brother and the pupil. He said Mohammed also worked as a farmer and hunter.
Mohammed’s relatives accused a senior school official of making false allegations against him. “He was a strict safety officer. And one day he found a boy with marijuana at the school and told the official. But the official was related to the boy and since then there was tension. She always setting him up,” his brother said.
Barrackpore police confirmed that Mohammed had contacted officers on several occasions to investigate pupils in possession of illegal drugs.
The details of the relationship between Mohammed and the teenager were recorded in Nandlal’s diary which was found by her sister, Tara, on Monday. Nandlal was being cared for by her elder sister after their parents died in 2005.
The entries began in January 2010 with the last being made two weeks ago.
Nandlal’s brother-in-law, Mayalal Seepersad, said she discussed her problems with Mohammed. “She used to talk to him about her problems so he knew her weakness. One of the first things I read was that she considered him as a father she never had. The last thing that was written was that they will do what they have to, to enjoy themselves and then they will kill themselves.”
The diary and a licensed pistol, belonging to Mohammed, were seized by police.
Seepersad said although he was relieved that Mohammed had committed suicide, his death would not replace his sister-in-law.
“I am kind of relieved but not as much as I should be because the girl is still gone. It is good that justice was served, I would say. I would not say it is the best way but if you are doing something wrong there are consequences, he should have thought twice before he did what he did,” he said.
Seepersad added, “I don’t know if they were in love but they had made their statement what they wanted do. They accomplished what they had in mind. I cannot describe what went on; I don’t know what took place there.”
Nandlal left her home at Hassanali Trace, South Lower Barrackpore, on Monday afternoon after her sister questioned her relationship with the safety officer.
Tara Nandlal accused school officials of “covering up” the relationship. “It was only when it got out of hand then she made a report to the police. But by that time it was too late.
If we had known about this before, we could have probably tried to talk to her (Rehana) and advise her better but we did not know anything,” she said.
Pupils at the school described Mohammed as a friendly person. They said Mohammed and Nandlal spoke regularly at school.
Rajindranath Maharaj, manager of security services at the Ministry of Education, visited Nandlal’s relatives on Tuesday.
Both bodies were removed to the Forensic Science Centre in St James for autopsies.
The Ministry of Education stated on Wednesday there was a recent report of allegations of impropriety against an employee at the school.
“Investigations were immediately launched and the police became involved due to the nature of the claims,” the ministry stated.