Slain rice miller…Attack was carried out by known individuals

Sep 12, 2013 News

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….police recover live rounds at crime scene
 
By Leon Suseran
 
The family of the 74-year-old Corentyne rice- miller who was gunned down at his residence on Tuesday night believes that the gruesome attack was carried out by individuals who were well- known. Lallapersaud ‘Lall’ Juggerdeo of Lot 34, Number Nought Village was shot in the left side chest and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Skeldon Hospital.
Juggerdeo, a rice miller for over 15 years, came from a family of rice millers—his father being involved in the business for over 30 years.

As newer details are coming to light on the attack, Basant Lallapersaud, the man’s son, stated that the four bandits were armed with two guns, one of which was a pump-action rifle. And they went all out to conceal their appearances since their heads were wrapped in black cloth; they wore sunglasses; were attired in all over black and had their faces covered in black handkerchiefs.
He had just left his parents and cousins downstairs chatting around 19:30hrs, something they regularly did at the end of the day. His cousins had just arrived from overseas as well. “My dad left them and went upstairs to sleep,” he stated.
The man’s wife, Sheila, continued that her husband left them downstairs around 20:30 hrs and shortly after, she saw a shady individual, dressed in all over black crawling and entering the yard. She called out to the person and questioned who they were. There was no answer, except that the person continued to advance to the family downstairs.
She then realized it was an intruder, “and he wore dark, dark clothes and put a dark kerchief and dark sunshade.” The woman added that the intruder grabbed on to her neighbour’s hair. The neighbour was also sitting with them “and he cuffed her on her back and she fight back.” Meantime, the other three intruders were encroaching. They all invaded the bottom house and kitchen downstairs during which Juggerdeo, who was sleeping upstairs, awoke to the noise and rushed downstairs, demanding the intruders leave the compound.
She added, too, that one of the bandits accosted her and demanded that she take him upstairs. “My husband run down the step and pelted the bandits with the pineapples that were on the table and my husband took all of them to the street.” It could very well be that her husband diverted the bandits and thwarted their attempts to get further into the home and execute their robbery. He led them out to the roadway and there is where they started to fire shots, killing him in the process.
“I think known people did this—from not far from here—and it is not the big bandits—young guys; now training on this job because if it was professionals, they would have killed all of us but they were scared,” Basant said.
He also stated that he was in his house in the front of the yard and heard a loud bang. When he arrived, he witnessed “my dad pelting them with a piece of stick, so they must have decided to shoot him and they fired the shot.”
He stated, too, that he and the others started to pelt the bandits with any object they could have found, and it seemed as if the men got scared and discontinued their quest to carry out the robbery in the house and ran away.
Sadly, though, his father got shot while the bandits were fleeing the scene.  They shot their way out. He picked up his father, quickly put him in a vehicle, and rushed him to Skeldon Hospital.

Basant believes the motive of the men seemed very clear—”to rob—because we sell rice yesterday [Tuesday] but the people didn’t pay us…They [the bandits] could have got to go in the house, but they didn’t get to go in.”
Police arrived at the scene shortly after “with pen and paper—I don’t know if pen and paper can find the bandits.” Kaieteur News was also told that the Commander of ‘B’ Division, Mr. Clifton Hicken also visited with other senior ranks yesterday.
The police recovered three live rounds and two spent shells at the crime scene.
“Our life ain’t safe in this country—the bandits them and dope people tracing you…Criminals must serve their time because they don’t deserve to be out here and destroy an honest person. I don’t think it’s right.”
He described his father as an “honest and hardworking” person. “He didn’t fight with anybody—he is home, had some fun at times but no fighting with neighbours—everybody can talk about him.”
Juggerdeo also leaves to mourn his children: Basant, Sisto, Gaitree, Shashtree and Vijai. A post- mortem is due to be performed on the body but no resident Pathologist is available since Dr. Vivekanand Brijmohan is on leave.

 

 

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