SORROW and their sense of loss were written on the faces of three children yesterday - Mother’s Day - following the brutal killing of their parents after armed bandits stormed their home at Annandale, East Coast Demerara on Saturday night.

Forty-three year-old businessman Ramdeo Persaud, also called David and `Sweetie-man’ and his 34-year-old wife Mahadai Magoo, also called Sita, were shot dead around 19:20 hours (7:20 p.m.) on Saturday by six heavily armed bandits, whom eyewitnesses said are “identifiable”.

Residents said that four of the unmasked bandits, two of whom were wearing military clothing, were carrying long guns with the magazines taped together, while the other two were each carrying two handguns.

Relatives said Persaud and his wife were beaten by the bandits and even after they complied with the bandits order to hand over money and jewellry, were ordered to lie down on the polished floor of their room. They were then shot to death execution-style.

Reports indicate that Persaud was shot some four times in the back while his wife received three bullet wounds -- one in the region of the heart, one in the ribcage, and one on her leg.

News of the horrific double-murder spread rapidly throughout the closely-knit Annandale/Lusignan community on Saturday night. And by yesterday morning, a steady stream of relatives, friends and angry residents had gathered at the home of the businessman at 57 Peter Street, Annandale North. The visitors all extended condolences to the three grieving children.

The bandits escaped on foot (the same mode they used to enter the village), into the neighbouring Buxton area with an undisclosed sum of cash and jewellry along with a licensed 12-gauge shotgun owned by Persaud and five matching cartridges, which were discovered missing yesterday.

The children, 16-year-old Rakesh; 13-year old Deoram, also known as Neville; and 11-year old Devika, also known as Sabrina, said they had already bought Mother’s Day gifts for their stepmother Sita. They had planned to wrap the gifts on the night of the tragedy.

Rakesh, who lost his biological mother some years ago (his father’s first wife), has now lost his father and his stepmother Sita. With tears in his eyes, the lad told this newspaper that he had bought his mother a “beautiful purse” for Mother’s Day.

Persaud’s second wife, Ms Kalouti Persaud, 35, and the biological mother of Sabrina, a pupil of the Annandale Primary school and Neville, who attends a private school, lives in the same community at lot 80 Annandale South.

Kalouti was on the scene yesterday comforting the children. She told the Chronicle that she was married to Persaud in 1987 shortly after he separated from his first wife (Rakesh’s mother). The woman said she and Persaud separated in 1992, after which Persaud “took home” another woman, from whom he subsequently separated. He then married Sita about four years ago.

The three children said they were very attached to their father and stepmother. They pointed out that their parents were very good to them and tried to give them everything they asked for.

Recalling the gruesome ordeal, which lasted less than ten minutes, Rakesh said that he, his parents, his brother and sister and a workman were at home at the time of the incident.

He said the bandits entered the yard and ordered all of them to lie on the floor. The bandits then started to beat his father, demanding cash and jewellry. They were then taken upstairs where his parents handed over an undisclosed sum of cash and all of their jewellry.

One of the bandits remained downstairs guarding the three kids and the workman, who were all ordered to lie down on the floor.

Rakesh said he then heard several gunshots upstairs followed by the screams of his parents. He told the Chronicle that as soon as the bandits left, he and his siblings and the workman got up from the ground floor and went upstairs where his parents were making no sound.

“When I went in the room, I see me mother and father lying down on the floor, me mother curled up and me father lying on his belly. There was blood on the floor. They were dead,” the teenager said between sobs.

“We done buy gifts for Mother’s Day…we say we gon wrap it last night (Saturday night) but we nah get fu wrap it,” he added.

“Our parents were very caring…anything we want we get, anything we see, we get it,” the young man recalled.

The businessman’s younger brother, Ramesh, 40, who lives with his wife and two children in Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, was still in an emotional daze yesterday as he tried to come to grips with the tragic events of Saturday night.

Shaking his head, Ramesh said his elder brother was “very, very good” to him and the least he could do now, in the current situation, is to take care of his three children.

According to Ramesh, his brother was the eldest of four brothers and two sisters. “My brother was really kind to me and I will try to see the best I can do for the kids,” Ramesh assured.

“My brother was so kind to me that words can’t describe the feeling…he was such a kind and hardworking gentleman and such a loving and approachable brother.”

Persaud and his wife were the proprietors of the business ‘R. Persaud’s and Sons’ and were the sole distributors of KC Candy in this country.

Persaud’s brother also noted that while the bandits were terrorising his brother and sister-in-law upstairs, the bandit guarding the three children and the young workman, asked the workman (apparently mistaking him for the businessman’s eldest son), if he was going to “tek over the business now”.

Ramesh reasoned that this statement gave a clear indication that the bandits came to kill because up to that point, they had not discharged any rounds.

He said the family cannot estimate the extent of the robbery, but noted that his brother and his wife had “lots of jewelry” of which not a single piece could be found in the house.

“And then Saturday is a business-day, so he had cash that he collected from his business plus what he had home. And all of that is gone,” he added.

Ramesh also recalled that their parents died many years ago and he and his brother and their other siblings “really struggle fuh get up in life”.

“…we used to knock-about all over the place; we used to live right here (Lot 57 Peter Street) and we struggled real bad when our parents died; we really, really struggle in life and now to sit down and enjoy life a bit…I cannot explain how much this thing really hurt.”

Neighbours who spoke with this newspaper, but preferred not to be named, said they were very scared during the ordeal. Some of them lamented the fact that despite several attempts on the telephone to contact the Police Station, the Police arrived on the scene long after the bandits had already made good their escape.

One neighbour said she dialed the Police number at Vigilance less than one minute after the bandits entered the Persaud’s yard, but was unable to get through to the Station since the line was busy.

Commenting on the current crime wave plaguing the country, a 70-year-old woman said: “It’s too much, this thing gone too far now. This whole country going down the drain…the Police always arrive on the scene when the bandits done escape (and) this thing is suspicious.”

The vocal senior citizen, who preferred not to be named, blamed the political situation in this country for what is happening currently and also expressed optimism that “the white people (should) come back and rule us again”.

Police said that after shooting the couple dead, the bandits exited the yard and proceeded East into the Buxton area on foot firing several shots at a neighbouring house.

Several bullet holes were seen yesterday on the verandah of the house obliquely opposite to the Persaud’s. Sixty-five-year-old Motilall, who lives with his family at lot 35 Peter Street, said he was sitting on his verandah shortly after 19:00 hours and barely noticed some persons coming through from the eastern end of Peter Street (from the direction of Buxton).

“I immediately suspected that they were about to do some robbery. So I escaped with my family through a back entrance to a house at the back...we waited there and hear some bullets. When I come back after everything finish, I see these bullet holes on my verandah,” Motilall recalled.

Motilall, who described the Persauds as very good neighbours, said he, himself obtained his firearm licence only two weeks ago. But he has not yet bought a firearm.

“…even if me had that self (a gun), that wouldn’t have help a bit when you look at what them bandits have,” the elderly man said.

Prime Minister Sam Hinds visited the dead couple’s home around 12:30 hours yesterday, by which time, more than 100 persons had gathered in the yard. The Prime Minister was bombarded by questions and accusations from persons venting their frustrations at the government’s seeming inability to protect citizens. They also deplored the perceived inability of the Police to capture the criminals and murderers.

“Dey murdered me brother like fish; dey put them to lie down and shoot them in cold blood in the most brutal fashion. I don’t think my brother deserve to die like that,” Ramesh told the Prime Minister.

To this Mr. Hinds replied: “There is nothing more I could say except that my major feeling at this time is one of great grief. We have to continue our efforts; we had another long meeting again this morning (yesterday) to try to develop some methods to recapture these bandits and any others that may have joined up with them.”

“This is a situation that should have never happened. It leaves all of us with horrors,” he added.

Meanwhile, the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP) issued a statement yesterday saying it is deeply saddened by the “robbing and murdering” of the businessman and his wife who have become “the latest victims of organised banditry and murder”.

“The circumstances under which these two hardworking, decent citizens were gunned down show that these bandits were cold-blooded murderers,” the PPP said.

“That the bandits came on foot and left on foot, with much ease, in the direction of the neighbouring village of Buxton/Friendship, reveals the boldness with which these acts are now being perpetrated,” the party said.

It said, too, that the targets, frequency and organised nature with which these acts of robberies and murders have been committed over the past six weeks, seem to suggest that robbery is not the only motive.

It would be of interest to recall the network of support and cover bandits and other criminals enjoy from certain quarters and elements in our society, the governing party said.

The PPP further pointed out that recent utterances made by the Opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) leadership at City Hall could but only embolden those intent on breaking the law and terrorising hardworking Guyanese.

The PPP said it recognises the tremendous efforts of the law enforcement agencies to fight crime and respond to acts of domestic terrorism.

However, the party urged others in society to “do their part”.

“All Guyanese, including political groups and the entire media landscape must take a side - the side of the law and help fight crime; there is no room for ambivalence and cloaked attacks against the Guyana Police Force or its special anti-crime unit.”

“The perpetrators of these murderous acts must be nabbed and brought to justice, no matter their hiding place,” the PPP said in its statement.

The Police yesterday afternoon issued a statement saying the Force is continuing investigations into Saturday night’s incident. The Police said it has removed several spent shells and warheads from the crime scene. These will be used for ‘ballistic analysis’.

Head of State refutes claims that Police are incapable of arresting criminals
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo has refuted claims that the Guyana Police Force is incapable of arresting criminals and those abetting them in executing criminal activities and hiding from the Force.

The Government Information Agency (GINA) said that in an interview yesterday with Prime News Editor-in-chief, Mr. Adam Harris, Mr. Jagdeo said that the Police have been active in exploring links leading to criminals and where possible arresting criminals.

“There was a series of arrests. At one stage they had about 30 persons. They took them in, and I think out of that a number are being charged. These are people who are helping criminals, supplying them with guns and other logistical support,” GINA reported the President as saying.

On February 23, notorious bandits Troy Dick, Mark Fraser, Shawn Brown, Dale Moore and Andrew Douglas escaped the Georgetown Prison, Camp Street fatally stabbing one Prison Officer and leaving another critical injured as a result of a gunshot. The prisoners remain at large.

A series of criminal activities have been linked to them since their escape.

“I understand the public feelings. I live here. I know about the high tension in the society. I know about the fear people have…I wished as the President of Guyana that I could assure every single Guyanese that they would not be harmed. But what I can say to them is that we are working everyday to control this situation,” GINA quoted the head of state as saying.

All efforts to control the recent spate of crime and to recapture the five escapees cannot be made public, the President said.

“The Police and the Army are strong bodies that are working together…. The Army is involved at the intelligence and operations levels. They are already on patrol on the East Bank and they will expand their patrolling. The Army will probably get more involved as the situation evolves,” stated President Jagdeo.

According to GINA the President said that in this fight against criminal activities, the silence of the main opposition People’s National Congress/Reform is surprising.

“Some of these criminals get cover. They are capitalising on the political situation, that is why I find it very strange that the Opposition has not come out and condemned the wave of crime and criminality and disassociated themselves from these criminals,” the President said.

He added: “There is always some half-hearted statement from time to time and it lends itself to a lot of suspicion that it is giving cover to criminals. This may not be so, but it lends itself to that suspicion.”