A bandit was shot dead at Dundee, Mahaicony yesterday afternoon during a confrontation with police, while his accomplice escaped with a bag containing the booty.
The two had earlier broken into a house belonging to Veerapen Jebode, 58 and his wife, Gangawatti, 53, at Good Faith, Mahaicony and escaped with over $1M in jewellery and a small amount of cash, a cellular phone and other articles.
Police said in a press release yesterday that officers from the Mahaicony Station responded to the report and during the investigations came under fire from two men who were in the area.
The police returned fire and one of the men was fatally shot, while the other escaped into the backlands.
A .32 snub-nose revolver and a 9mm. pistol were recovered at the scene by the police. A bag containing a pair of binoculars, a cell phone and a cap were also found.
Gangawatti also recognised some of her personal items in the bandits’ bag, including cosmetics, clothing and a roll of scotch tape.
The release said, too, that police were scouring the backlands in search of the escaped bandit. Further investigations led to the arrest of a male suspect, while he was attempting to board a mini-bus.
Gangawatti, who was alone at home, was resting in a hammock in the front yard and did not realise she was being robbed. It was not until her husband, a minibus driver, returned home and she got up to give him his lunch that she noticed the bottom flat ransacked.
She then went upstairs to investigate and by then her feet “start to tremble” when she noticed the three bedrooms and living room in disarray.
Veerapen then left to make a report at the Mahaicony Police Station and Gangawatti raised an alarm. About five minutes later neighbours spotted the two suspicious-looking men walking calmly out of a nearby dam.
They then telephoned the police and told them to “come now, bandits in the village.” A neighbour approached them and inquired whether they were from the area and they replied that they were not.
The bandits tried to stop minibuses to take them towards Berbice. But in an effort to stall them until the police arrived, the neighbour flagged down the buses ahead of them and told the drivers not to pick them up.
They then decided to stop and board another bus coming from the opposite direction. Gangawatti and the neighbour “jumped in with them,” fearing that they would escape.
On their way, the neighbour told the driver to drop him down Dundee dam, knowing that there would be many persons around to capture the men. But after he noticed that the men were trying to take out money to pay and disembark, he told the driver to continue the journey.
By that time he and Gangawatti spotted the police car and they shouted for the driver to stop. It was during this time that the shoot-out took place. The other bandit who was dressed in a white shirt, then held onto the bag with the valuables and escaped.
