Murder suspect gets visa, flees despite police holding passport

Dec 23, 2017 News

– Gangaram family appeals for justice

It was a regular afternoon for a livestock farmer and his family on the 27th September, 2016 in the

Murdered: Ramnarine Itwaru aka ‘Bill’

quiet village of Gangaram, East Canje, Berbice.
Ramnarine Itwaru well known as ‘Bill’ to villagers had just had his lunch, prepared by his wife Kuntie Hemraj called ‘Rosie’, and set out to his farm to tend to his livestock, located some miles away, on his motorcycle.
He never returned home that day.
News made its way to villagers and relatives that ‘Bill’, a father of one, was murdered.
His body was reportedly discovered by a fisherman, face down, backpack still on and his motorcycle parked on the roadway near his corpse. Several bullet wounds were noticed about his body and what appeared to be marks of violence on his face.
Nearly 15 months later, the mystery surrounding the murder of the farmer still remains unsolved with the last word from police sources, months ago, stating that “the case has gone cold”.
The grieving wife, siblings, in-laws and other relatives are, however, eager to have justice served for their loved one.
Brother of the deceased farmer, Deonarine Itwaru, 40, of Susannah Village, Corentyne, Berbice paid a visit to the Prime Minister’s office at Port Mourant and spoke with the Regional representative, Gobin Harbhajan, after the family had received no new information or heard of any progress from authorities into the execution-style of his sibling.
He told reporters that he made several calls and visits to investigators in Berbice and was told that they were not in charge of the case.
“When we go to police in New Amsterdam they seh how GT (Georgetown) dealing with the matter. So if GT dealing with the matter, what they doing there?” Deonarine asked.
According to the farmer’s brother, a prime suspect that was arrested after the shooting was released on station bail shortly after and the case has since gone cold. Initial reports had stated that bloodstained clothing was discovered at the prime suspect’s home in Gangaram.
The suspect was reportedly involved in a heated argument with ‘Bill’ a month prior to the

Widow: Kuntie Hemraj

shooting and had threatened to kill him, after ‘Bill’ stopped him from trespassing on his farmland. He had reported several head of cattle missing and other livestock, hence his actions.
Deonarine told Kaieteur News that the main suspect has since gone overseas, but he is puzzled as to why the individual was allowed to leave the country, as he (Deonarine) claimed, the authorities told him that the suspect’s passport was lodged with investigators.
“When me tell dem the guy got his visa and go away, dem tell me that he can’t go nowhere. Dem seh how dem got all he documents. So how he out of the country? That is what we want know,” the frustrated man said. He stated that after he was told that Georgetown was handling the matter, he made contact with detectives at CID Headquarters and was told by detectives that they were in possession of the suspect’s travel documents.
“I don’t know what is going on.I don’t think they are doing enough. If I get justice I gon satisfy,”
he stressed.
Meanwhile, the still devastated wife Kuntie Hemraj was brought to tears as she recounted the events of that day when she got the news of her husband’s death. She related that it still remains fresh in her memory and as time goes by it gets harder knowing that the killer is still out there walking free.
“I feel like it happened yesterday. Is every day I crying, because I can’t find a person like he back”, she said, as her eyes became watery with tears.
Taking a deep breath, she explained that life has not been easy for her and their son, now 12.
“He (son) don’t talk much now. Sometimes I does see him sitting by himself on the bench and he looks sad. It’s like when he deh here at the house he does get flashbacks. He told me one time when he come home from school that he just feel like screaming, and I ask he why, and he said ‘because daddy nah deh’… that was hard to hear”.
Etched in her memory was the first time she met her husband back in 2002.
“I was riding my bicycle and he was sitting on the culvert,” a smile plastered on her face as she spoke of that moment.
The woman who has since taken up the mantle of taking care of her husband’s livestock is seeking justice for his death. She wants the killer to face the penalty. “I want them to know that it is not okay… it is not okay for them to take away someone I love from me. I am hurting and I want justice.”
Ramnarine Itwaru was last seen at 13:00 hrs that fateful day, heading to his farm. A fisherman reportedly discovered his body. Four .38 mm spent shells and one live round of ammunition were also found at the scene.