All of the persons who the police had charged as well as suspected of having participated in the brutal killings of Agriculture Minister Satyadeow Sawh, his siblings and his security guard are now deceased leaving the force at a dead end.
Up to two weeks ago, David Leander called `Biscuit’ was the only remaining accused charged with the murders. However, he died at the Georgetown Public Hospital after days of being there and unable to recover from a coma. A post-mortem has since proved inconclusive on the cause of his death and toxicology tests are to be done. Crime Chief Seelall Persaud said the police would have to now formally withdraw its case.
In keeping with legal procedures however, when the matter is called again the police prosecutor would have to advise accordingly, putting an official close to the case.
Persaud said the closing of the case also signals a suspension of investigations until new information comes to hand. Meanwhile, Persaud has not denied that there may have been more persons engaged in the murders. However he pointed out that investigations are done based on the availability of information. Currently, he said there was no new information.
Masked gunmen dressed in military fatigues invaded the minister’s Earl’s Court, La Bonne Intention, East Coast Demerara home on the morning of April 22, 2006 killing him, his brother Rajpat Sawh and his sister Phulmattie Persaud who were visiting from Canada. The minister’s security guard Curtis Robertson and his dog were also shot during the ordeal.
Police in a statement a day after the ordeal had said that the gunmen approached along the roadway and discharged rounds at a security guard, Albert Mangra, who was on duty at a nearby premises. He was hit in the abdomen. They then discharged rounds at another security guard, Roopnarine Thakurdin, but he managed to take evasive action and escaped unhurt, the police said. The men who were armed with rifles entered the minister’s premises by jumping over a fence. They then fatally shot Robertson and also shot and killed the minister’s dog. They gained entry to the house through an open doorway and confronted the minister who was shot twice. It was stated that the gunmen then confronted Rajpat and Omprakash Sawh from whom they demanded cash and jewellery.
Omprakash handed over $23,000 whereupon they were placed to lie on the floor and the men discharged rounds at them fatally wounding Rajpat and injuring Omprakash who was hit to his left side. Phulmattie Persaud who was in another room was also fatally shot in the face. The minister’s wife was also in the house at the time but escaped unhurt as she locked herself in the toilet.
The police fought hard in the face of criticisms of slothfulness in their investigations, to round up suspects in the case. Close to three months after the murders, police, in a surprise move following complaints of impatience with investigations, issued bulletins for Leander, Jermaine `Skinny’ Charles, notorious prison escapee, Troy Dick, Rondell `Fineman’ Rawlins, Orlando Andrews called `Bullet’ or `Jeffrey’ and Richard Daniels called `Chucky’.
Two million dollar rewards were being offered for the capture of the six and for four others for whom police could only give aliases. They were `Not nice’, `Cash’, `Sonny’ and `John Kirby’.
These aliases have caused some amount of confusion for police, as Persaud admitted that at times many of the men went by multiple names and aliases resulting in one person being called several other names.
However, the police had said they were wanted for information into the murders. Leander and Charles were actually charged with the offences since they were the only ones caught by the joint services during operations in Buxton, East Coast Demerara, while the others remained on the run.
Charles was killed along with Rawlins in a shoot-out with the joint services almost a year ago. He had escaped from the Sparendaam lock-ups following his attendance at court for the same matter, but due to negligence by the police he was able to crawl under loose boards in the lock-ups and made good his escape. He linked up with Rawlins who was on the run after allegedly murdering, then burning the bodies of eight miners at Camp Lindo. Days after the link-up, the two were killed at a shack at Kuru Kururu on the Linden/ Soesdyke Highway.
Leander had been captured during a joint services operation in late October 2007 in Buxton that resulted in the deaths of Noel James who had recently been released form prison, and Andrews who was also wanted for a number of murders.
Just before Leander fell sick, Magistrate Yohhansseh Cave who was presiding over the Sash Sawh murder PI, had ruled an oral statement purportedly made by Leander inadmissible to evidence. The magistrate ruled that “the evidence… Was not sufficient to satisfy the court that the purported oral confession on which they sought to rely was taken in circumstances that were free and voluntary.”
There had been skepticism that the persons sought by the police could be he the ones involved in the murders. Observers had said that the attack was carried out with military-style precision and robbery did not seem to be the real motive. They also pointed to the extreme savagery employed. Sawh’s sister was pulled from under a bed and killed.
Sawh was sworn in as Minister of Fisheries, Crops and Livestock in 1996 and was also assigned the responsibility for forestry.
