The brother of murdered HIV counsellor Seeraj Persaud believes that the failure by investigators to actively track several numbers found on his stolen mobile phone will allow a killer to roam free.
On February 15 last year, Persaud, 42, was found strangled in his office at the Parika Health Centre, and now, more than a year later, members of his family are still at a loss about why his life was taken.
Persaud’s brother, Boyo, told Stabroek News recently that several months ago family members met Commissioner of Police Henry Greene and were told that investigators were tracking numbers found on a phone stolen from Persaud. He explained that hours after the murder, the perpetrators made calls from the instrument before transferring the remaining credit to another cell phone.
However, Greene’s good news later turned to disappointment when relatives were told that investigators were calling the numbers but were not getting through to anyone. Boyo, however, dismissed this explanation as unacceptable and unjust. He said that it would have been easy for the police to get the addresses of the person’s who owned the numbers.
“They could go to the company and get the addresses just like how they got the numbers,” Boyo said, while noting that at that time one had to take proof of address to their telephone service providers. He added that if the investigators really wanted to find his brother’s killer, they would have put measures in place to get the names and addresses of the owners of the numbers they had. He said that once this was done, pinpointing a suspect would have been very easy.
A senior police officer said that investigations are still ongoing into the case and there has been no new development since a description of a suspect was given to ranks; he was said to be a tall and well-built man. The officer opined that persons who might have seen something are scared to come forward with that information. A suspect has never been held in connection with the incident.
Persaud’s cellular phone was among the items missing when his body was found in his office.
His laptop and his wallet were also missing.
Members of the staff at the centre had recounted that they had seen someone enter Persaud’s office but did not pay attention to the individual. Later, a man exited the office, telling two women who were sitting outside “later.” Because of the nature of the sessions, the door is always kept closed. The women sat outside the door waiting for Persaud to indicate that they could go in. After a while, one of them decided to check and discovered Persaud on the floor.
A post-mortem examination revealed that Persaud died from manual strangulation. He also sustained blunt trauma during the incident.
Very strange
Boyo said that he found it very strange that no one saw or heard anything suspicious before the body was discovered. The man noted that there were “two girls sitting right deh and they say them nah see nothing.” He said he found their explanation hard to believe, since there would have been a number of persons in the health centre compound when his brother was killed. Also, he said the health centre is located within proximity to a market and a police station.
According to Boyo, a Cuban doctor who worked at the health centre returned to his native land after the murder and even changed his telephone number. “That is very strange and it puzzling me,” he said, while adding that he gave the police this information but nothing was ever done.
He had hoped that investigators would have made efforts to contact the man and question him about what he might have heard or seen that day.
Boyo added that the suspect was seen at a Valentine’s Day voluntary testing activity held in front of the Health Centre. He was then seen the following day walking behind Persaud. There are suggestions that the man had an appointment with Persaud and it was during this time that the murder was committed.
Boyo said because of the codified system used when dealing with HIV cases, it would be difficult to say by name who Persaud saw on the day he was killed. He stressed that no names of patients are written in the appointment book, only a code.
One source told this newspaper that persons would usual go in and out of the health centre. According to the source, because of the sensitivity surrounding HIV, persons would not have been paying much attention to where Persaud’s office was situated. The source added too that even if someone saw something suspicious, they would be afraid of coming forward out of fear of victimisation.
Sick mother
After spending 18 years in Russia, Persaud returned home in 2002 when his father died. Boyo explained that his brother was to return to Russia after the funeral but his mother fell ill. Being the youngest of his siblings, he said, Persaud decided to stay in Guyana and take care of his mother. Boyo said that his brother wanted to return to Russia, where his wife lived.
According to Boyo, although Persaud was highly qualified he spent about six months home without a job. Eventually, he was employed as an HIV counsellor at the nearby Parika Health Centre.
Boyo said it saddened him to know that after doing so much to elevate himself educationally and then returning home to serve his country, his brother was brutally killed and nothing was being done to bring his killer to justice. Struggling to contain his emotions, Boyo said “this nah fair. He was such a nice person.”
During the interview, the man begged for the police to be more proactive with the investigation but he expressed doubt that the killer will ever be caught. He said that he has reached this conclusion because “they get so much information but dem nah do nothing about it.” He said that his brother’s murder will be added to an already long list of unsolved crimes. “This thing [the murder] done dead. People [the police] done forget bout dat,” he said.
Boyo said that the memories of his brother and what happened that day are still fresh in his mind and since the incident he ensures he is in his house before nightfall.
