Her voice never wavering, the mother of murdered businessman Nikhil Kumar Luthra yesterday called on Homeland Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds to resign if he has to and for the Acting Police Commissioner to offer “no excuses” for their failure to arrested fugitive crime.
As Hindu funeral rites prepared her only son to leave his home to be cremated at the Caroni crematorium, Kalawatee Luthra also renewed her appeal to Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley to get some control over crime and called the leader of the opposition.
Nikhil Kumar
“I want my prime minister to know that I love you very much, Mr. Prime Minister, but you are not doing the right thing,” Luthra told mourners at the family home in Lange Park, Chaguanas.
“I want the Honorable Leader of the Opposition, Madam Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Madam, you need to do more.”
Her tone remaining strong, Luthra fired off a message to Police Commissioner McDonald Jacob.
“Our Commissioner, the Acting Commissioner of Police, sir, I would like to tell you now, I don’t want to hear excuses from you, I want to see results… and all the other mothers in this country.
While honoring a “loving” and “devoted” child, Luthra also had a message for the Minister of National Security:
“This is not a political rally, I am not standing on a political stage. I’m taking my son away and I want to say to Mr. Fitzgerald Hinds, you need to resign if you can’t do your job properly. You must submit your resignation. Don’t sit back and do nothing and blame this and blame that. We don’t want statistics. We don’t want numbers. We don’t play the numbers game. We want to be loved and we want this country to be loved again.”
Nikhil Luthra, 34, died shortly after being shot in a shock attack at The Residence Restaurant and Bar at One Woodbrook Place at around 2am on August 13. Two other men in Luthra’s company, Eli Hajahlay, 51, and Roger Ramdeo, 34, were also shot.
Police believe Nikhil, the former co-owner of Blue Sky Shipping, was not the target when a masked gunman climbed a wall and opened fire on the men as they were in a cabana outside The Residence.
Be good, do good
Nikhil’s kindness, generosity and supportive nature were described by grieving friends at his funeral, and his mother assured them that they “had a special place in Nikhil’s heart”.
“I request you all to go out, be good, do good and help each other,” Luthra told the gathering for her son’s Antyeshti Sanskar (last rites).
Herself involved in an NGO—Service to Women and Youth (SWAY)—Luthra recalled of her son, “The connections he made, the passion he lived with, people live a lifetime and would never dream of lived the quality of life he lived.”
Proud, unbroken
Luthra said she and Nikhil’s father Vijay Luthra, as well as their extended family, were “extremely proud” of him and wanted to “celebrate his life before we send him to Godhead.”
“We have no doubt where Nikhil will go,” she said. “He will not melt into a final resting place, but will go to Bhagwan (God).
She had said that the family was “heartbroken, but not broken, and I want you all, with lots of love and memories, to send Nikhil away.”
Recalling that her son’s friends liked to be invited when she cooked, Luthra said, “Nikhil will not eat my food again…and we will leave it at that. We are not crying today.”
She said that “Nikhil will not be a memory to us” and “will continue to be a force in our lives”.
Calling on his friends to also keep his memory alive, she said that if Nikhil had seen yesterday’s gathering, he would have said “waaaayy”, as he did when he was unable to express himself.
‘A true friend of mine’
The slain man’s friends described him as a brother and broke down as they spoke. A friend of about ten years, Dr Aneil Singh, said the two met at a charity venture and “Nikhil saw a lot in me that I didn’t see in myself”.
“I don’t know how Nikhil had so much time to love everyone,” said a tearful Singh.
He said the last time he and Nikhil spoke was “a difficult time for me” and vowed:
“Next month, I will write my exam with you in mind. I will continue the rest of my career with you in mind and I will always take care of your mother, father and sister.”
Friend and “twin brother” Brent Russell was emotional throughout his tribute and described Nikhil as the “most reliable” person he knew. Nikhil enlivened every gathering and the two shared a love for cricket, he said.
Russell said he was “getting calls from people from all walks of life saying what an impact he had on them.”
“He taught me the importance of adding value to other people’s lives,” Russell said. “My true friend, I hope we meet again.”
