A Hope, West Coast Berbice woman was burnt to death in her home yesterday in a fire set by two bandits who first robbed and brutalised the woman and her son.
Before escaping, the bandits bound and gagged Anita Baichan, 49, and her son Moshim Khan, 28, then set the house on fire. Khan managed to escape but neighbours were unable to save his mother. The horrific incident left many shocked.
Police said the incident occurred at around 2:30am yesterday. In a statement, the police said investigations are being conducted into the circumstances surrounding Baichan’s death. Initial investigations indicate that two men armed with cutlasses entered the home and held up Baichan and Khan and demanded cash and jewellery.
“The perpetrators were given $30,000 but kept demanding more valuables. Having not received anything further from the victims the men used duct tape to tie the hands, feet and mouth of the victims and set the house on fire before escaping,” the statement said.
The police reported that Khan managed to roll out of the building but subsequent efforts, with assistance from neighbouring residents, failed to save Baichan. Khan, who was struck about his body with a cutlass during the incident, was treated at the Fort Wellington Hospital.
Stabroek News was told that the two bandits, who were wearing masks and were armed with cutlasses, entered Baichan’s home by removing the grill at one of the windows at the back of her home. “The thief man tell them that they tek off the bar and come through the back window and start asked them for things. They see the sister picture and asked who is she and ask weh she deh and they ask for money and US currency,” a relative related to Stabroek News.
“He [Khan] was sleeping and the thief man juk him on his side so when he turn they start attacking him with the cutlass,” she added. The woman related that the bandits demanded cash and jewellery. Stabroek News was told that the men bragged about how they entered the home.
After the bandits did not get as much as they expected, they chopped Khan several times before tying up him and his mother.
The relative also explained that after the men finished attacking Baichan and Khan and looting the house, they started to “smoke up their weed” before setting the lower flat of the house on fire. After the bandits escaped, Khan managed to roll off the bed and down the stairs and was rushed to the Fort Wellington Hospital by residents.
However, their efforts to rescue Baichan failed as the blaze consumed the house within minutes.
While the residents were unable to enter the house because of the blaze, family members are convinced that Baichan could have been saved if the fire service had arrived earlier.
Stabroek News was told that while the fire started at around 2:30am, the fire service did not arrive until 5am. “They took forever to come and they are only about 10 minutes away and at that hour of the morning they don’t have traffic to study about so they should have been here,” a relative said.
She explained that after the fire service arrived some hours later, they were not even prepared. “They came without water, they didn’t even have their equipment on. All they had on was casuals and some boots, nothing else. They looked as if they didn’t know (what) to do,” she added.
According to the woman, it was one of the sugar estate’s firetrucks that arrived on the scene to prevent one of the neighbouring houses from going up in flames. Residents and family members also expressed disappointment in the police saying they arrived at the same time as the fire service.
“The police looked like they didn’t even know what to do, they even stated that they panic. I think she could’ve been saved if the fire service had been there. They need to step up. Not only are they always late to these things, they are never prepared,” the relative added.
Family members are not convinced that the incident was just a simple robbery and said it was planned. Stabroek News was told that Baichan’s daughter returned from the United States around midday yesterday, but the fact that the two robbers had inquired about US currency raised suspicions as to whether they were expecting her to be there.
“It just seems weird. You want to rob someone why light their house on fire and try to kill the two of them?” a relative questioned.
Khan has been discharged from the hospital but was too traumatised to speak with Stabroek News.
