Pensioner’s remains found in burnt-out backdam campsite

Jun 09, 2020 News

– love triangle suspected to be motive

The police on the West Coast of Berbice are investigating the death of a 61-year-old pensioner of Shieldstown, after he was suspected to have been burned to death at a campsite in the Shieldstown backdam. In custody is a man who once shared a relationship with the victim’s married daughter.

Dead: Abdool Basheer Rahoop

Dead is Abdool Basheer Rahoop, 61, a father of 10. According to the Commander for that region, Yonnette Stephens, the matter is being investigated as an incident until there is evidence to prove otherwise. She, however, confirmed that a male who was with the man at the time of his death is presently in police custody.

He told police that he was imbibing with Rahoop at the backdam location when someone threw an incendiary into the structure, causing it to catch afire. He reportedly stated that he ran out the makeshift structure but the victim was left inside. The flames reportedly spread rapidly through the structure and Rahoop who was trapped inside was burnt to death, leaving only fragments of skeletal remains.

At the home of the dead man, Kaieteur News spoke with his wife, Dhanwanttie Ramkissoon, 49 of Lot 4 Shieldstown, WCB. She related that the person in police custody is known to the family since one of her daughters had once shared a relationship with him. Ramkissoon disclosed that on Saturday, the suspect visited their home to pick up her husband to catch fish at the backdam location, but her husband did not want to go.

(From left) Dhanwanttie Ramkissoon (wife), Bibi Nesha Bashir (daughter) and Zaman Ali

“He take my husband to the backdam,” she said, “although he didn’t want to go but he tell he how he gon go and catch lil hassar and bring it out and sell and get lil money.” She further stated, ” but he carry the man at the rum shop and buy three bottle rum and carry am and drunk am so by time dem reach where dem binna go dem done drunk so me na know what happen”.

Ramkissoon stated that her husband and the suspect would regularly imbibe together and so on Saturday, they both left for the backdam around 15:00 hrs and were expected to return today, Tuesday. She said it was the suspect that told her that her husband “get burn up” at the backdam and that he was going to make a report. He was however taken into police custody to facilitate the investigation.

Kaieteur News also spoke to the victim’s daughter who had shared a relationship with the suspect, Bibi Nesha Bashir. She stated that although married to someone else for some 16 years, she had shared an on and off relationship with the suspect but had severed ties with him almost two years ago. However, the man remained friends with her father. She believes that the suspect killed her father “fuh tek out spite, he kill me daddy, me know that.”

The woman’s present partner, Zaman Ali says that he has been married to her for 16 years but because of marital issues, she had struck up a relationship with the suspect “but me does got to go bring she back.” He referred to the suspect as a family friend but also believes that the man killed his father-in-law. He believes that the man is capable of such an act because he was allegedly once beaten by him with a piece of wood, three months ago, during an argument about the extra-marital affair his wife was having with the suspect.

Meanwhile, the family of the dead man also complained that the police ventured to the location without taking a relative and as such, they were not satisfied with that since they believe that a relative should have accompanied the police to the location. Questioned about it, Commander Stephens stated, “I don’t know anything about that”.

The investigation is continuing while the remains of the dead man are being stored at a funeral parlour.

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