Two witnesses, including an eyewitness, testified yesterday when the trial of Shawn Thom and Orin David called ‘Plait Hair’ commenced in the High Court before Justice Franklin Holder.
Thom of 128 Third Street, Alexander Village and David are accused of murdering Lakeram Bishundial on August 21, 2010.
Seeta Bishundial, cousin of the deceased, told the court that she had travelled with Lakeram’s brother, Totaram, to Georgetown to do some shopping and while on their way home they saw him in his truck. The woman said Totaram had some money in a black bag which he put on the floor, but took the strap of the bag and wrapped it around the gear stick.
She said that Totaram stopped the truck and went to talk with his brother and that is when she saw a man walk up to the side of the vehicle, with “plait hair and a polo shirt,” and that he appeared to have a gun in his hand.
The woman said the man then went up to Totaram and pointed the gun at his head and then she heard a loud explosion. She said that when she then saw Lakeram slumped over in the front of the truck and the man then came over and demanded the bag with the money.
According to the witness, she was frozen with fear and never looked at the gunman. “I kept my face in front. I thought I was dreaming, I couldn’t believe something like that was happening,” she testified.
She told the court that she heard another loud explosion and the man shot into the gear stick, grabbed the bag and run towards a bike that was waiting on him.
The other witness who testified was Doodnauth Bishundial, who said that Lakeram was his eldest son and that on August 23, 2010 he went to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he identified his son’s body to Dr Nehaul Singh. He added that a post-mortem examination was done and Lakeram’s body was handed over to him and he was cremated on August 26 at the Good Hope Crematorium.
According to reports, while Bishundial was driving his motor lorry GGG 8273 along the roadway he observed his brother, Totaram, in his motor pick-up. The two brothers stopped their vehicles and were talking on the road when two men rode up on a motorcycle. The pillion, rider who was armed with a handgun, got off the motorcycle, approached the two brothers and discharged rounds at Bishundial, hitting him in his abdomen.
The armed man then grabbed a bag containing an undisclosed sum of cash from the pick-up and escaped along with his accomplice on the motorcycle. Bishundial was taken to a private hospital in Georgetown where he succumbed to his injuries.
The men are being defended by attorneys Trenton Lake and George Thomas. Senior State Counsel Judith Gildharie Mursalin is presenting the state’s case.
