Essequibo businessman Ganesh Jaigobin was shot twice yesterday on Regent Street in the city and the lone gunman fled with a bag containing an undisclosed amount of cash.
Jaigobin who owns the G&P Jaigobin and Son Supermarket at Anna Regina, Essequibo is a patient of the Intensive Care Unit of a city hospital. According to a relative, the doctor has since said that Jaigobin is in a stable condition and that a bullet lodged in his abdomen is not in any “danger zone.” The businessman also sustained a gunshot injury to his forearm.
Police said yesterday that they were investigating the armed robbery, which occurred around 2pm as Jaigobin was sitting in a parked motor car. He was confronted by the perpetrator, who discharged three rounds at him, hitting him to his left forearm and abdomen. The armed man then took away the bag with the cash and escaped on a waiting motor cycle ridden by an accomplice.
Jaigobin was taken to a private hospital for treatment and he was admitted as a patient.
Stabroek News understands that the businessman and his wife travelled from Anna Regina to the city yesterday to conduct business. Jaigobin, after making several stops, went to a store located between Cummings and Light streets to check prices for spare parts.
A witness told this newspaper that the businessman arrived on Regent Street in a white taxi. The businessman, who had what appeared to be a laptop bag, went to a store, where he spent about 30 minutes. He then re-entered the taxi with the bag slung over his shoulder. This newspaper was told that from all appearances, the gunman and his accomplice were standing further up the road watching the businessman’s movements.
The witness said that as the businessman sat in the taxi gaffing with the driver, a man, dressed in brown three quarter pants, a brown top and a black cap, approached. The man pulled out a small pistol and instructed Jaigobin to “pass this f…ing money.”
From all appearances, the businessman believed he had the advantage since he was already in the vehicle but the gunman put his weapon through the window and pulled the trigger, this newspaper was told. According to the witness, the businessman held on to his bag and began resisting the gunman. It was at this point that, shots were fired.
“He fight up bad,” the eyewitness recalled, while adding that after snatching the bag, the man ran to a CG motor cycle, which was parked a short distance away.
This newspaper was told that while the robbery was in progress, the gunman’s accomplice approached on the bike. While the gunman was running with the bag, the witness said, the strap burst and he had to hold it up on his leg as the motorcycle sped away.
The witness told this newspaper that the injured businessman came out of the vehicle and asked for assistance in strapping up his bleeding forearm. Persons in the area said that police took about 10 to 15 minutes to arrive at the scene.
One businessman ex-pressed disappointment that foot patrols in the busy commercial area have ended. The man said that it was reassuring to see two policemen walking down Regent Street with their weapons. Ranks on motor cycles too, he said, are a rarity in that area.
When this newspaper arrived at the hospital, relatives and friends were anxiously awaiting word from the doctor. According to a relative, Jaigobin came to the city to do business. No one could say how much money was taken and according to one of those gathered “the man tek he whole brief case.”
There have been several high profile armed robberies recently. On Tuesday, New York-based Bishop Benjamin Nurse was shot dead during a robbery at his Lot 172 East La Penitence property. The two gunmen, who later escaped on a pedal cycle, were after a huge gold chain with two pendants that he was wearing at the time.
Later that day, around 2:10pm, two men one armed with a handgun robbed a clerk attached to Jialing Forestry Industry Limited of $2 million which had just been withdrawn from a city bank. The bandits escaped on a motor cycle. Police are yet to make an arrest in these two cases.
