– community needs to come together, says Prakash Gossai
Another Better Hope resident was held yesterday for questioning into the brutal stabbing to death of construction foreman Latchman Persaud and a third suspect is being sought.
Stabroek News understands that the man was picked up in the East Coast Demerara village yesterday afternoon and taken to the Sparendaam Police Station. The other suspect in custody had turned up at the same police station with his father on Monday and after giving a statement, he was detained.
Meanwhile, a post-mortem examination will be conducted on Persaud’s remains today and he will be buried on Saturday.
Persaud, called ‘Boyo’, of Better Hope South, was fatally stabbed on Sunday around 10 pm in the village. It was his birthday.
In a statement issued yesterday, police said investigations have revealed that Persaud was at home and left shortly after receiving a telephone call.
He was later heard shouting for help and upon checking he was discovered in front of his residence with stab wounds to the body. He was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
A knife, suspected to have been used in the attack, was recovered at the scene by the police and a man was arrested, the statement added.
Relatives told Stabroek News that jealousy over Persaud’s recent promotion to the post of foreman was what led to the tragedy.
According to the reports reaching this newspaper, two villagers, one of whom had held the foreman position until he was recently fired and his son-in-law had made life for Persaud miserable over the last few weeks.
The men were upset over his progress and the fact that they were fired.
Change
Yesterday, during a visit to the community, Hindu leader Shri Prakash Gossai called on Better Hope residents to live closer together and to attend their various places of worship. He urged religious and social organisations to get involved to help get rid of some of the social ills in society and not just make issues such as HIV the focus.
Gossai told Stabroek News yesterday that he was shocked to read in the media that the whole incident arose out of jealousy and as a result he decided to visit the community. He said when he arrived, there were about 14 persons at the dead man’s home and the number was more than double when he left. He said that Persaud’s mother and his 17-year-old wife were in tears while he visited the home.
Gossai, speaking in his capacity as a Hindu priest, told the gathering that paying attention to religion and religious thoughts could lead to a better way of life. He opined that had the attacker had someone, or even members of a community-based organisation, to whom he could have voiced his frustration, the incident might have been prevented. “We could set up a base where persons can feel free to discuss their problems. My firm belief is that attending places of worship could solve problems like this,” he said.
He called on all organisations to broaden their missions and look at things that are affecting communities and not just those affecting society as a whole.
