A member of the gang that fatally chopped elderly Bush Lot businessman Arthur Doodnauth Rajkumar and his common-law wife Diane Chamanlall in their home last Saturday has also confessed to their involvement in the arson at Hope in which Anita Baichan burned to death.
This was confirmed by Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum, who told Stabroek News that the confession was made when ranks arrested the man for the double murder on Saturday evening.
Blanhum said the man told investigators that he and two others were involved in the robbery and arson at Baichan’s Hope, West Berbice home.
One of the men has already been arrested while the other, who is a former murder accused, remains on the run. He was recently released after being questioned about another murder.
According to Blanhum, the case file for each of the murders will be sent to the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) today for legal advice.
The suspect is said to have given a detailed confession about the attack on Rajkumar, 81, called ‘Uncle Arthur,’ and his common-law wife, Chamanlall, who were fatally chopped early on Saturday morning.
During the confession, the suspect said that he and the gang went to a nearby playfield in the area where they smoked marijuana. They gained entry into the couple’s house through a door which was left open.
The men were familiar with the premises since they would frequent the ice cream parlour, pool shop and stationery store that the couple operated there.
The men chopped the couple since they demanded money but the couple did not hand over anything. A source said that after the men demanded cash they were told by the couple that they did not have any. One of the men then responded, ‘How y’all gon’ get shop and don’t have money.” The incensed men then continuously chopped the couple. As they packed items, the police arrived at the scene and the men scaled the fence and escaped.
The police had said in a statement that Rajkumar and Chamanlall were found with multiple chop wounds about their bodies. They were taken to the Fort Wellington Hospital, where Rajkumar was pronounced dead on arrival and Chamanlall succumbed while receiving medical attention.
Stabroek News was told that after police ranks were summoned to the couple’s home around 3am, three men were seen jumping over a fence from the premises as lawmen approached.
One of the suspects was found at home in the bath with clothes that were soaked to be washed. There were spots of blood on the clothing.
Apart from the confession, it was understood that a ski-mask found in the house of the Lot 93A, Middle Walk Dam, Bush Lot village, West Coast Berbice couple also matched a mask found at the scene after the attack on Baichan. The mask was identified by Baichan’s son.
A police source told Stabroek News that the attack on Baichan, 49, and her son, Moshim Khan, was premeditated since the men were in an abandoned house located nearby before they decided to proceed.
In a statement, the police had said that the men, who were masked and armed with cutlasses, entered the home and held up Baichan and Khan and they 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,” it added.
“We beg and beg. We beg for them to stop but they continue to beat us and demand for more cash and jewellery and we seh we ain’t got none, we poor but they ain’t listen and they just continue beating us,” Khan had told Stabroek News.
After the men lit the house on fire and left, Khan rolled himself down the stairs to the lower flat and it was there that he lost track of his mother. He managed to free his hands and feet and he then rushed to the kitchen, where the fire had started, to remove the gas bottle to prevent any explosion.
Khan, however, then realised he had not seen his mother downstairs with him. He said that after he noticed she had not followed, he rushed to the stairs only to be greeted by intense flames engulfing the staircase.
Khan was unable to run back up the stairs to try to rescue his mother and started screaming for help.
