VINOD Narine, 55, the person suspected of torching the rented property he owns at Fourth Street, Industry Sideline Dam, East Coast Demerara yesterday morning in a fit of rage while he was home alone, is hospitalised and under police guard after he reportedly ingested a poisonous substance.His condition has been listed as serious up to press time.
The mid-morning fire has left seven persons homeless; displaced homeowner Nadira Gossai, called Debbie, 32, a domestic worker; her two children; her reputed husband, Vinod Narine; and three tenants who resided in the lower floor of the two-storey building. They lost everything in that unfortunate incident.
The fire was started at approximately 10:00 hours yesterday, and the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) responded with two fire tenders that doused the flames ripping through the entire house. They managed to save the neighbouring houses.
Residents, especially an elderly woman who owned the neighbouring building, were loud in praise for the diligent work of the firefighters that saved her house.
Villagers told the Guyana Chronicle they are not surprised at the development, since the couple was daily engaged in fights and quarrels. About eight years ago, Vinod Narine, who has fathered several children from prior relationships, became intimately involved with Gossai, who has two children from a previous relationship; they began living together after Gossai’s mother constructed a house for them at Lot 96 Fourth Street, Sideline Dam, Industry.
Neighbours have reportedly not had a good night’s sleep for quite some time, because of the raucous disturbance of this couple’s disagreements, which would erupt after a bout of drinking, which occurred almost every day or night.
The couple would loudly quarrel or fight late into the quiet of the night, and recently, Gossai was granted a restraining order for a month against Narine, following another fight, which involved her teenage son and Narine.
A neighbour said he was in his bed when he felt the heat and got up to see what was happening, whereupon he observed a fire next door, alerted his landlady, and they went into action to save her house.
Gossai’s mother, Chan (only name given), said yesterday that she had just returned home after vending all night at Stabroek Market, when she received a telephone call from her daughter stating that the house had been torched. She journeyed by taxi from Canal Number Two Polder to the scene, but by then the building was completely gone.
Homeless, Stephan Krishna told the Guyana Chronicle yesterday that he was not at home when the fire was started, but he received a telephone call about the fire, and left the Internet café where he was. He said he was dumbfounded, since he did not know what had transpired.