A 51-year-old pastor of Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice was fatally stabbed around 10:15 pm on Saturday.
Reports are that Motielall Persaud called ‘Brother Martin’ who operated an internet café at the nearby Armadale Village served as an assistant pastor at the Assemblies of God church in the village.
He was elected last Sunday to head the church and was expected to “take over in full from yesterday.
The assailants dealt him a slash to his foot and followed him to his brother-in-law’s yard next door where he ran to seek cover and continued the attack.
Relatives said he succumbed to his wounds as they were trying to locate transportation to take him to the hospital.
Persaud’s attackers stole his cell phone, a set of keys for his house and business place and a small amount of cash from his pocket.
But relatives are convinced that robbery was not the motive and that the killing was “premeditated.” The keys were later retrieved at the scene.
He had just arrived home from his businessplace and parked the car and locked the gate when the two masked men pounced on him.
His sister-in-law, Parveen Narine told this newspaper that she and her husband, Roopchand Narine were awakened by a groaning sound.
She immediately checked on her three children [all below 10 years] but they were fast asleep. They then peered out of their window and noticed Persaud on the ground in their yard with the two men over him.
There seemed to be a scuffle. It was raining heavily and there was lightning at the time.
Persaud was shouting for Roopchand Narine to “come and help me; look dem bore me… on my foot.” Parveen said her husband attempted to go out to the man’s rescue but at the same time one of the men shouted “shoot him!”
She became afraid and “pulled him in back.” According to her, the attackers then dealt Persaud more stabs, one in the region of his heart before running back through his yard and scaling the fence and escaping.
They also stopped briefly next to his car and attempted to open the back door. After the men left, her husband whose phone was without credit asked Persaud to borrow his phone to call for a vehicle to take him to the hospital.
But he related that the attackers had stolen his phone and the other items. Roopchand then ran through a rice field that separates his yard from a neighbour’s house, to hire a bus but they did not have a driver.
He then borrowed a phone and called the man’s father-in-law and he hired a canter. By the time he got back to the scene and called out to Persaud there was no response.
Sooraj Evans who works as a watchman at the internet café told this newspaper that Persaud closed up at 10:05 pm. “He told me he won’t go to the wake house [in the village] because he gat service at the church [yesterday].”
Members of the neighbourhood police later went to his workplace and told him to “be careful; don’t stay here because dem just kill yuh bossman and took away his keys.” He said he went over to the yard next door and sat in a car and continued to keep watch.
The man leaves to mourn his wife, Geeta, a 10-year-old daughter, Theresa and his son, five-year-old Emjay as well as his mother and siblings who reside overseas. Geeta and Emjay left two days ago for a vacation in Trinidad.
