Latest update January 17th, 2025 6:30 AM
Brutal end to kidnapping…Businessman’s body found in cemetery
After holding their captive for almost four days, kidnappers finally lost patience and murdered Enmore spare parts dealer, Rajendra Singh, called Sunil, even before they could collect the $25M ransom they had demanded.
Rajendra Singh
The 40-year-old Singh’s body with a bullet wound to the head, was discovered in an isolated section of Le Repentir cemetery around 09:30 hours yesterday. His killers had used a jersey to tie his mouth and nose.
The killers then proceeded to stuff him in an alcove created by some fallen trees. They had removed his pants, leaving him clad in his socks and his underwear. His hands were bound with what appeared to be his belt.
A worker, who was in the process of identifying suitable land for burial sites, stumbled upon Singh’s bound body.
“Me see de body under a tree…He been pon he face. Me run out hay, pick up me bicycle and go at de office and tell me boss,” the worker stated.
He could not estimate how long the body was there but investigators believe that Singh was killed right in the cemetery some time early yesterday morning.
They reportedly recovered a warhead from a tree near where the body was found, convincing them that the bullet which killed Singh passed through his skull and lodged in the tree.
Initially, people could only guess at the identity of the body although there were speculations that it was the missing businessman.
It was a relative, who turned up in the cemetery and positively identified him.
News of the discovery was relayed to Singh’s immediate relatives in Enmore who were obviously shocked, since they were desperately hoping that he would have been released without harm.
The shocking discovery came even as Singh’s relatives had accumulated part of the ransom, which they had hoped to deliver to the kidnappers to secure his safe release.
Singh was snatched from his store on the Foulis Public Road on Saturday night in the presence of his wife and two of his employees by two gunmen who had pretended to be customers.
The men dumped Singh in the trunk of his car and sped away.
A relative treks to the scene at Le Repentir Cemetery where Singh’s body was found.
Less than an hour later, the car, a Toyota IST was found abandoned at Goedverwagting, a few miles away.
The kidnappers subsequently made an initial demand of $50M for his release. This figure was then reduced by half the following morning.
The kidnappers had also warned Singh’s wife not to contact the police. They also demanded the tapes from the surveillance cameras that surrounded the business place.
Although they were monitoring the subsequent telephone calls, investigators admitted that they were unable to ascertain the exact location from where they originated with a view to narrowing down where Singh was being held captive.
While no one has been directly linked to the kidnapping, detectives had detained a woman who was listed as the owner of the SIM card from which telephone contact was made by the kidnappers to the businessman’s wife, Heema.
The death of the businessman will take its toll on his friends and relatives, including his mother and two sons who live in the USA.
It has come at a time when family members were issuing a public appeal for the kidnappers to release the businessman.
“His two sons abroad, aged 20 and 15 years, shared a close bond with their father. One of the sons, who attends college, is so shocked, he has secured himself in his room. Both he and his other brother are incommunicado with the rest of the family. They only venture out when it is necessary,” his father in law Ratilall Rambaran, told this newspaper yesterday.
He said that Sunil’s mother is on the verge of a nervous breakdown after learning about the fate of her only son.
“I leave the rest to the public for their maternal instincts and imagination of what then relatives are going through,” Rambaran said.
In light of the ongoing budget debates, the relatives are calling on the subject minister responsible for citizen’s security to move a motion, calling on the entire national assembly to condemn “this barbaric act and empathise with all Guyanese. All parliamentarians should show solidarity and support at this time.”
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