Two years after young Arjune Narine Singh was brutally gunned down at an unauthorized Middleton Street road block, police are no closer to finding the killer/s even as his relatives continue to call for justice and harsher penalties for the ranks involved.
Relatives have expressed dissatisfaction with the police investigation thus far and though one rank has faced disciplinary action for failing to report that he was going out on duty, they say that this is unacceptable. They are adamant that if there was no roadblock, the then 22 year-old-Singh would be alive today.
When contacted recently for an update on the investigation, Crime Chief Seelall Persaud said a file was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and she advised that more investigations be conducted. He said the matter is still open.
In a letter to this newspaper days before the second anniversary of his murder on May 14, Singh’s father Narine said that on that tragic day “our precious son, brother, nephew, cousin and friend was brutally snatched away from us by gunmen at Middleton Street, Campbellville”.
The man said the death had left the community in shock and fear and it was senseless and cruel.
According to Narine, his son was shot dead in an incident which has left behind more questions than answers. He noted that ever since the incident there has been criticism over the conduct of the police officers on that night and their subsequent action but nothing much has been done.
Narine who lives overseas added that to date there has been no information from the authorities on the status of the investigation but they “continue praying for our land, Guyana that the justice system will diligently work on solving crime. May God grant them (the police) the ability and whatever tools they need to solve these gruesome crimes”.
He expressed hope that his son’s murder will not go unsolved.
Earlier this week, during a telephone interview with Stabroek News, the man broke down in tears as he recalled fond memories of his son.
He had returned to Guyana to celebrate Singh’s birth anniversary on May 9. Narine explained that his son was a very loving and giving person who would always give back to the less fortunate.
Before he died, he would visit orphanages and feed the children living there.
Narine said that in memory of his son he fed those living at a girls’ orphanage on the East Coast.
“It really tough. I have lost weight…. My son was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said between sobs while explaining that his son was returning home after collecting his dinner when he was stopped at the road block.
At that time, he was living alone as his parents and only sibling – a sister resided abroad.
The man said that after the killing he went to Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee and he was promised that the matter would be investigated but up to now he has gotten no satisfaction from the police.
“A good step was taken to discipline a rank but nothing came after that. Those two ranks should have been held responsible for my son’s death,” an emotional Narine told Stabroek News.
The man said that the tragedy had also affected his family particularly his wife who cries almost every night.
“We will never get over this,” he stressed adding that it is very painful to know that out of everybody that was there Singh was the only one killed.
“Why this thing had to happen to him…? He prayed every night. He was a very religious person. He wasn’t a bad guy”, he added.
Narine pleaded for justice and “for some positive action to come out of the matter”.
“He was so young, he never got a chance to enjoy life,” he said.
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On a website set up in his honour, Singh’s parents plead for anyone who could find the perpetrators to come forward
“Somewhere out on the streets of Greater Georgetown the persons who did this are still around. They’re capable of more violence,” they said adding that despite what has happened they still believed that Guyana is a good country.
“It’s in this belief and hope that the communities within our city would not accept such a violent and senseless end to the life of a young man who only shone every day with a brighter light. Our son loved Georgetown. It was his city. He loved people… He was driving home when his car became stopped at a police checkpoint in Campbellville, Greater Georgetown. He was strapped in the seat of his car. He didn’t stand a chance when gunmen drove up and open murderous fire killing him in the process,” the emotional message read.
They said they are certain that there are people out there with information and urged them to aid the police in their investigations since “the city is not safe from random violence until the person who killed our son is found…”.
On May 14 at around 9.30 pm on a narrow, poorly lit Middleton Street two police ranks; one in uniform and the other in plainclothes, chose to stop a car and check documents belonging to its occupants thus creating a traffic block due to the manner in which the uniformed rank was positioned. This resulted in a backup of two vehicles — Singh’s and Larry Gursahai who was behind Singh.
These vehicles along with a marked police car and another vehicle were squeezed together in a section of Middleton Street facing south
Within a few minutes of them being stalled on the road, a gunman who exited a car on nearby Drury Lane came up and discharged a volley of bullets. Singh was fatally wounded and Gursahai also sustained injuries. The uniformed rank fled the scene in the injured Gursahai’s vehicle stopping for the man to exit after Gursahai refused to drive to the Kitty police station. The other rank jumped into a nearby ditch and later emerged to call for backup.
Four months later, a senior police officer told this newspaper that the investigation into the incident was two-fold: the murder itself and the allegations made against the police.
He had said on this occasion that that while nothing new had come out of the murder investigation, the police were advised that the ranks who were at the checkpoint be warned. He said too that one of the ranks was subjected to disciplinary action because he did not report that he was going out on duty that night. The officer did not state how the rank was disciplined and this newspaper has been unable to ascertain this. It was surmised that the ranks had set up the roadblock to collect money from commuters.
