Bandits attack Leguan
Labourer shot dead; outboard engines stolen
By Oscar P. Clarke
A labourer was killed and several other men beaten and tied up when some seven bandits landed on Leguan Island on Sunday night and stole two outboard motors, causing panic among residents.
Dead is 38-year-old, Mohan Singh called ‘Paduka’ or ‘Fat Boy’ of La Bagatelle Village, Leguan, who was fatally shot in the head by bandits who attacked a group of men guarding several speedboats at the island’s waterfront.
According to reports, Singh was shot in his hammock under a shed at Maryville near the shore as he guarded several speedboats moored for the night in a makeshift security area. Earlier in the year, residents stated, two boats and engines were stolen from the beach front causing them to take measures to secure their property. Among the measures taken was to fence off a portion of the waterfront area into which the boats — most of which ply the Leguan to Parika route — are moored at night.
This area has a gate, which is secured by chains and locks and owners have hired men who take turns in watching over the boats.
The farming community was thrown into mourning as news circulated about the death of the labourer, who residents described as hardworking and peaceful.
When Stabroek News arrived on the island early yesterday morning villagers could be seen congregated at various points discussing the tragic events.
Several areas in one of the two watch cabins had dried blood, on the mud floor, while the two boats, minus their engines, were left on the beach as the tide had receded.
Angry residents bemoaned the lack of adequate protection and demanded firearms to guard their property from bandits. One resident said that they were alerted by shouts after the bandits, who arrived via the river, shot Singh. The man had been lying in a hammock in one of the cabins and had reportedly made a move for a cutlass in his bid to ward off the thieves.
According to the resident, the bandits had been observed several days prior, scouting the area. They arrived at Leguan under the cover of darkness and had reportedly switched off their engines, which allowed them to reach the shore undetected.
A resident showed this newspaper where a hammock had been cut down and its cord used to tie up several men, who were then huddled into the Diana, one of the boats from which an engine was stolen.
Residents also complained about the inability of the police in the area to adequately respond to such incidents as demonstrated by their arrival some hour and a half after the shooting.
“The police don’t have vehicles and phones,” the residents said, urging the government to boost the station’s capacity both in manpower and equipment.
The bandits were said to have been outfitted in bullet proof vests.
At Singh’s home, about a mile and a half from the area where he met his end, men were erecting a makeshift shed in preparation for a wake.
According to his wife of 18 years, Bhagmani Singh, he had left home shortly after 5:00 pm on Sunday to go to the area where he would normally watch the boats. She later received a message sometime during the night that he had been shot but it was not until she was nearing the point where his body was located that she was informed that he had died.
Attempts by her to view the body, which she said was face down, were blocked and it remained on the spot until nearly mid-morning yesterday before being removed and taken to the Leguan Cottage Hospital morgue. A post mortem will be performed.
Relatives said that Singh had been doing this job for approximately the last four months.
Bhagmani Singh said that her husband was a quiet man who worked hard in the back- dam to make ends meet, but with the off season for rice he took the night job to supplement his wages.
Mother of the deceased 68-year-old Bagpattie Singh stated that her son the third of seven children was always there to look out for her.
Police on the island were said to be investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting and several persons were being questioned.