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Investigations into burnt rice farming couple appear to be grounded
It will soon be two months since rice farming couple, Mohamed Munir and his wife, Bibi Jamila, were burnt alive in a fire which was deliberately set at their Good Hope, East Bank Essequibo home and the
Dead: Mohamed Munir and his wife, Bibi Jamila
investigations into their deaths appear grounded.
The couple was killed on April 17, last when intruders reportedly entered their heavily grilled two-storey home. With no concrete evidence, the main suspects continue to roam free.
Investigators have reportedly worked on a number of leads but none of them has been able to definitively point to who was responsible for the Munirs’ deaths.
Days after the elderly couple was killed, police had arrested five persons, including one handyman.
However, the cops were forced to release the men after 72 hours because there was no evidence linking them to the deadly blaze.
The case was being investigated by ranks from the Force’s Major Crimes Unit and statements were taken from a close family friend, who alleged that Mrs. Munir had called him just before the fire and told him that bandits were in the house.
Neighbours also told the cops that the couple was shouting for “thief” just before the fire started and gutted the building.
Early this month, Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, said that his team was working on some new leads but he failed to disclose what those leads were. He did say that the case was a “work in progress.”
Mohamed Munir, 75 and his 69-year-old spouse, perished shortly after 23.00 hrs on April 17, last, after they were trapped in a raging fire that destroyed their house.
The burnt property.
Their badly burnt corpses were retrieved from the debris after the fire was finally extinguished.
Eyewitnesses said that the blaze started in the upper flat and spread within minutes.
While some residents said that they had heard gunshots, post mortem examinations performed on the victims showed that they died from severe burns.
Police have received reports from at least one female neighbour, who said that she saw two people in the couple’s verandah before the fire broke out. The neighbour also claimed to have heard Mrs. Munir screaming that ‘bandits’ were in the house.
Shamiza Khosial said that she was up at around 23:00 hrs, when her son told her that there were people fighting at the Munirs’ residence.
On peeping outside, Mrs. Khosial said that she saw two people on the couple’s verandah. She also heard the Munirs screaming for help.
“The place was dark and I see two persons on the verandah and then I started to hear they (the couple) shouting that bandits were in the house,” Khosial said.
Another neighbour who asked that her name not be disclosed said that she heard persons talking in the couple’s home before they started screaming for help.
“I heard people talking and then I heard the sounds of bottles like when people tumbling and they accidently jam some bottles, but I thought it was them (the rice farming couple). It was when they started shouting for thief then we realized people was by them,” the neighbour said.
Anyone with information which would lead to the arrest of the Munirs’ killers can contact the nearest Police Station.
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