Chaguanas schoolteacher and financial consultant Komal Maharaj, 41, who was reported missing on Friday, was found alive and unharmed yesterday evening at a hotel in St Helena.
Police officers went to the Piarco Touch Down Hotel after receiving information from nearby residents and discovered Maharaj alone in a room. A senior officer told Guardian Media that there were no signs he had been held against his will or had suffered any injuries, leading investigators to believe he may have been there voluntarily.
Maharaj was taken to a nearby health facility for medical attention before being placed in police custody for questioning last night.
A close female relative told Guardian Media the family had been at prayers when they received news that he had been found, but she declined to provide further details. Earlier in the day, family members, overwhelmed by fear and uncertainty, had asked both the public and the media for space to cope with the trauma.
“Just like you want answers, so do we,” a family representative had said.
Praying for Maharaj’s safe return for a second time, another relative shared, “This has been particularly hard for his elder daughter, who is very close to him.”
She recalled the pain of his disappearance in July 2024 and, fighting back tears, pleaded, “We don’t know anything. We, too, want to know what is going on.”
She added that the family had been working closely with the Anti-Kidnapping Unit (AKU) and trying to “maintain a routine that is as close to normal for the children.”
She admitted, “This is just as baffling for us.”
Maharaj, of Lyle Lane, Felicity, Chaguanas, was last seen around 3.30 pm on Friday, when he walked out of his home towards the nearby savannah. He reportedly told his wife he was heading to the Aranguez Hindu School to conduct music classes.
Clad in blue jeans, a black long-sleeve zipper sweater, and sunglasses, Maharaj was seen entering a silver Nissan Wingroad shortly after. He allegedly vanished without further contact. Relatives confirmed yesterday that they had not heard from him since, nor had they received any ransom demands.
This is the second time in just over a year that Maharaj has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. In July 2024, he went missing after withdrawing cash from an ATM at Price Plaza, Chaguanas. His car was later discovered abandoned in the mall’s parking lot. That incident sparked widespread concern, prompting appeals from residents, the AKU, and then-parliamentarian Dinesh Rambally for public assistance.
Maharaj was later found alive, but questions lingered about claims he had escaped by swimming from Venezuela into local waters before being rescued.
Yesterday, one resident described him as “strange,” saying the family usually kept to themselves and avoided mingling with others.
“Since last year’s incident, they withdrew even more,” the resident added, noting that the latest disappearance had again raised questions about what was really happening.
Another man dismissed rumours that this was a second kidnapping.
