Police have arrested a second man in relation to the murder of businessman Bedi Ramjeiwan, who is believed to have been relieved of a bag with money as well as a quantity of gold jewellery.
It is believed that a “dark green bag,” which perpetrators were seen with while leaving the crime scene, was a deposit bag from the city bank which Ramjeiwan visited an hour and a half before his death on Wednesday morning.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud told Stabroek News yesterday that a second person was held in relation to the murder. Hours after the incident, police had arrested a man based on “a description” given to them. Investigations, according to Persaud, are ongoing and police are still to conduct an identification parade.
Persaud explained that police have been able to establish that the deceased had a bag in his possession and it is believed to have contained a quantity of cash. A senior police source also said that investigators spent most of yesterday speaking with eyewitnesses and taking statements.
At about 11am Wednesday, Ramjeiwan, 38, was returning home in his car when he was confronted by two men along Crown Dam, Industry, on the East Coast of Demerara. He was beaten about his head with a motor cycle helmet and shot to his chest. Yesterday, when this newspaper revisited the location, a resident who heard the commotion during the incident and looked out stated, “I hear this wax, wax, wax, like somebody getting licks and I look at me door and see these man beating this man [Ramjeiwan] with a helmet. The licks getting the man so he nah get time fuh holler.”
The woman, who asked not to be named for fear of being targeted, stated that she did not realise that it was Ramjeiwan who was being attacked. She said that the man usually drove a black car but on the day of his murder he was driving a white car. She noted that the men who attacked Ramjeiwan had dragged him out of the car and continued to assault him. Stabroek News understands that the men were at a shop at the head of the street looking out for Ramjeiwan.
While the woman said she did not notice the men prior to looking out, she did state that the men seemed to be wrestling over a bag. She described the bag as a “square, dark green bag with handle.” The men, after collecting the bag, shot Ramjeiwan at close range before jumping onto a motorbike that “nah geh no number plate back or front.” Giving a further description of the motorbike, the woman said that it was a “dark colour like a slight dark navy blue grey.”
This newspaper learnt that in addition to the bag, Ramjeiwan is missing a gold chain, gold ring and a gold band, which he was wearing when he left home that day.
A relative of the deceased told Stabroek News yesterday that Ramjeiwan left his home some time between 8 and 9am Wednesday morning. He had told relatives that he had to make a stop to purchase spare parts for his business from a local agent before going to a bank in the city. When the relative was asked about the bag that the robbers allegedly made off with, she said it may have been the deposit bag from the bank.
On Wednesday, Persaud, when questioned about the motive behind the shooting, said that “it may have been a robbery but we have no evidence to suggest that it was.”
Meanwhile, some persons in the community noted that Ramjeiwan’s death was traumatic for the area and some have called for more action by the government to protect businessmen. “So young, making an honest living with his family and then this,” one neighbour and close family friend said, as she became teary eyed. The woman said that she was inside at the time of the incident and it was only when she heard the single gun shot that she and her husband came out to see what was the matter. She noted that Ramjeiwan, who was the Managing Director of Ramjeiwan’s Auto and General Store, was a very kind man who was generous to his community members.
Another member stated that Ramjeiwan was the “hand and foot for he mother.” “Since we know he, he is a very good character he is so well known, so simple so humble, everything you can think about is Bedi,” the old woman added. Since last January, there have been several similar cases where armed motorcycle bandits pounce on unsuspecting customers who leave city banks with large amounts of money. A security expert, who spoke with Stabroek News last August, had said that the robbers usually work in pairs and travel on motorcycles. They often hang around Camp Street, Water Street or Carmichael Street, where the banks are situated and look for easy targets. Police Commissioner Henry Greene later said that in the past there have been proven cases of collusion between bank employees and the bandits.
