Twice missing Trinidad man found at hotel

(Trinidad Express) Komal Maharaj, the 41-year-old music teacher who was reported missing on Friday has been found alive.

Police confirmed last night that Maharaj was located in a hotel in St Helena. He appeared to be unharmed.

The Express attempted to contact Maharaj’s relatives but calls were unanswered.

Earlier in the day, however, Maharaj’s wife broke her silence on his second abduction in the past year, saying when her husband returned home after being held captive in Venezuela he was never the same again.

In a telephone interview with the Express, Joanne Ramjass-Maharaj said she feared for her husband’s safety after he walked out of the family’s Felicity home on Friday afternoon, never to be seen again.

Ramjass-Maharaj said she discovered that her husband was missing when she returned home with her two children at around 3.30pm.

Surveillance camera footage confirmed that Maharaj, a part-time music teacher, walked out of their Lyle-Lane Street home and into a nearby savannah. He was later seen entering a vehicle. Ramjass-Maharaj admitted that she had seen the vehicle before and that information was handed over to police, she said.

“Since he was released, we have been trying to keep in touch all the time as a safety measure. So we were messaging during the day. I went to pick up the children from school and when I arrived home the car was there. I went inside to look for him and he was not there. I started searching, checking the cameras and asking neighbours,” she said.

Ramjass-Maharaj said her husband did not show up at the Aranguez Hindu School where he was expected to teach a class from 2 to 4pm.

And when she was unable to reach him on his cellphone she contacted the police.

A police report stated that Maharaj was spotted shortly after 1.30pm sitting on a bench in a savannah in Chaguanas. He was described as appearing “worried” while speaking on his phone.

And, minutes later, he was seen entering a silver Nissan Wingroad, which then drove away.

But this was not the first time Maharaj has disappeared. In July 2024, he went missing after withdrawing cash from an ATM at Price Plaza in Chaguanas. His car was later found abandoned in the mall’s parking lot. That disappearance sparked a nationwide searching, involving the Anti-Kidnapping Unit and Hunters Search and Rescue Team.

After 14 days, Maharaj was located alive saying he had been held in Venezuela and returned to Trinidad by boat.

Ramjass-Maharaj said her husband had suffered mental and emotional distress since that abduction, having nightmares and feared for his family’s safety.

“My husband was never the same again. He said he was taken against his will to Venezuela and told us certain things that happened there. He would have nightmares and we increased security measures at our home. We would call each other during the day just to check in,” she said.