– car found at herstelling
Persons searching for missing taxi driver, Bomeshwar Sukhdeo, yesterday stumbled upon a badly burnt corpse at the side of the road leading to Mocha Arcadia, East Bank Demerara, believed to be his.
While positive identification cannot be established until DNA tests are conducted, the body was determined to be that of a male of Indian descent, not more than 25 years of age and about five feet, ten inches tall. The burning appeared to have been recently done.
The macabre discovery came shortly after the man’s white wagon minus the number plate and rear lights was found at a house in Herstelling, EBD, which led to the arrest of a woman and a man.
Since 39-year-old Sukhdeo called `Anil’, `Desperado’ or `Rush Hour’ of 162 Sixth Street, Industry, East Bank Demerara disappeared last Tuesday relatives launched several searches including on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway and the West Demerara area but came up empty handed.
Yesterday morning, Stabroek News was told that a relative spotted the white wagon beneath a house in Herstelling and the police were contacted.
A female occupant of that premises who was there at the time was arrested and has since told investigators that two men brought the car to the home for her husband to “spray over”. Her husband operates his business at another location on the East Bank. One of the men who took the car to the house was subsequently held by the police and he told investigators that the car was bought near a gas station. The car was positively identified as Sukhdeo’s based on the engine number, this newspaper was told.
Police are looking for the spray painter to assist in investigations. The car is at the Providence Police Station.
A search party later ended up on the stretch of road leading into Mocha, the village next to Herstelling some time after noon and was drawn to a particular spot by a strong stench.
They then stumbled upon the badly burnt corpse in a bushy area at the side of the road. The corpse was not visible from the roadway.
When this newspaper arrived, ranks were already at the scene conducting investigations as the taxi driver’s anxious father-in-law Bhoop Singh and friends looked on. One man said that after looking at the remains he believed they had found Sukhdeo.
Only the immediate area around the body was burnt though the grass was noticeably dry. A nearby tree was barely scorched leading some curious onlookers who had gathered to suggest that the actual burning did not occur there.
Government pathologist, Dr. Nehaul Singh who was brought to the scene to look at the body said that it could not have been there for more than a day based on the fact that maggots were present.
He said that due to the state of the body he could not determine how the man died. Singh added that the body will have to be washed for him to be able to properly examine it. He said from his observation, the burning did occur there.
Pieces of clothing and even a ten dollar coin were found leading investigators to believe that the man was fully clothed when he was set alight. A partly burnt piece of green cloth with red stripes was removed from near the head.
Police while conducting their investigations arrested a man after it was reported to them that he was observed acting suspiciously.
Residents of Mocha told Stabroek News that persons are in the habit of using the stretch of road as a dumping ground. This newspaper noticed many heaps of garbage. The shell of a car was just metres away from the burnt corpse.
No one recalled seeing a fire recently or seeing anything suspicious. One man though did recall that he passed the area within recent days and was overwhelmed by a strong smell. He said though that he dismissed it because people sometimes dump poultry waste in the bushes.
Persons yesterday raised concerns about the bush along road and the absence of street lights.
Sukhdeo, the father of a 4-year-old daughter was last seen in front of the Guyana Stores Limited car park from where he operated.
Relatives had been unable to contact him since and one of them had recalled that she phoned him the day he disappeared to tell him not to pick up his daughter from school since another relative would do this.
The white Toyota F1 touring wagon HB 7419 that he drove had also vanished.