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The neighbours of two Indian nationals whose bodies were discovered in a suitcase in a remote farming settlement in the interior of Fiji's western division at the weekend are in shock over their murder.
Rajamanickam Venkatachalam, 36, and Ramakrishnan Amirthalinham, 40, of Chennai lived in a rented flat in Mulomulo Street in Nakasi near Nausori and operated a scrap metal business in the area.
Both men were reported missing in mid-December.
Their bodies were discovered by a man who was digging an old pit latrine in Benai, in Koronubu, Ba.
Roshni Singh, 48, a neighbor who performed household chores for the two, was emotional about their deaths.
“The two boys were very friendly and caring and just minded their own business,” Singh told FijiLive.
“They called me aunty and showed a lot of respect to all the residents in the area.”
“I came to know them from last August when they moved into the flat which belongs to my brother-in-law who resides in America.”
“They paid me for the chores and the last time I visited them, they requested me to make some roti for them as they said they were tired and needed to take some rest.”
Another neighbour, 60 year old Bimal Prabha whose house is adjacent to the flat in which the men lived said they were friendly people and lived a very private life.
“They were very nice people and would always say hi and bye to me whenever they saw me as communication with them was a bit hard for me since I do not know English and they only spoke in English because they could not speak Hindi, so hi and bye were the common words we exchanged.”
“The news of their death has shaken me because it all just happened next door and I am really feeling scared after hearing about the incident.”
Nilesh Kumar, 30 a tenant in the same building where the pair operated their business said he could not believe the news of their death.
“They operated their business next door and were very friendly people.”
“They spoke to me mostly in English as they did not speak Hindi since they came from the Tamil Naidu state in South India.”
“I did not see them for some time and only came to know about their death through media reports” said Kumar who operates an entertainment business.
The Times of India said news of their death was communicated to their families by the authorities on Sunday.
“We lost contact with our brother after December 14. We approached Union ministers SM Krishna, MK Azhagiri and GK Vasan for help. Today, we learnt that he and Rajamanickam had been murdered," Amirthalingam's younger brother, Ganesharajan told the newspaper.
Fiji police have arrested and are questioning two locals who worked for the two men who police say had set up a scrap metal business Blue Waves Limited in partnership with a Fiji man.
Police told FijiLive the Fiji partner was not a suspect yet.
Officials at the Indian High Commission in Suva could not be reached for a comment.
