Investigators are hopeful that surveillance footage they have managed to obtain will be useful in leading them to those responsible for the murder of rice farmer Hardat Kissoon, who was shot dead during a robbery last Monday.
Stabroek News was reliably informed yesterday that the footage is reasonably clear and would have captured at least the shooter.
Kissoon, according to police, was attacked in a minibus at the Turkeyen Public Road, East Coast Demerara, at around 2.35 pm on Monday.
Another passenger had requested to get off and as he was passing Kissoon he pulled out a firearm and held the farmer at gunpoint and demanded a bag that he had in his possession. A struggle ensued over the bag, during which Kissoon was shot to his chest and the perpetrator escaped with the bag, police said.
Kissoon died on the scene.
A source confirmed that one of the government-installed CCTV cameras strategically placed at the traffic light where the bus was stopped would have captured the shooter running from the scene. The shooter’s accomplice, according to a source, was waiting on a motorcycle, which was parked on the University of Guyana (UG) Access Road.
“We have some things that we are looking at. We are looking at some evidence which could lead up to the perpetrator,” Crime Chief Leslie James said yesterday, while adding that investigators are working hard to crack the case and are following some leads.
There have been doubts that the CCTV’s cameras are in operation but the source told this newspaper that the one at the UG public road is working.
Despite possession of the footage, police could still face issues with the quality of the recording, which have surfaced in the past with footage from the government CCTV cameras, prompting criticism.
The source also indicated that useful evidence was gathered from the area around the bank where Kissoon had gone to change a cheque, worth just over half a million dollars.
Kissoon had travelled to the city on Monday morning to change the cheque, which he had received from a rice mill for paddy received. There are no commercial banks in the area; the closest ones are in Georgetown. Since the shooting, there have been calls for mills in the area to pay farmers in cash if there are no banks located nearby.
From all indications, the gunman followed Kissoon to the Route 44 bus park after he left the bank. When the father of three would have boarded the minibus to travel back to his Cane Grove, Mahaica home, the gunman would have jumped in and ensured that he sat close to him.
During the journey, the gunman was constantly on this cellphone. As the bus was proceeding along the East Coast Highway, the gunman requested to be put off at UG road, where he carried out the attack.
It is believed that the cameras outside the bank might have captured the shooter milling around outside.
Sources say that Kissoon may have just been a “by the way” target and he may not have been identified based on information provided by anyone within the bank.
There have been numerous complaints of suspicious characters hanging out outside city banks and as a result police had previously warned members of the public against leaving banks with large amounts of cash on their person.
The attack on Kissoon pointed to a well-organised and executed plot. It would appear that the plan was not to shoot the rice farmer but a shot was discharged after he resisted his attacker.
Meanwhile, Kissoon’s mother, Ramdei Ramgobin, told Stabroek News that she has heard nothing from the police. The woman, who was making preparations for her son’s funeral today, said a post-mortem examination on Friday revealed that he sustained a single bullet wound to the chest.
Kissoon along with his siblings owned a rice farm that was left to them by their deceased father.
