A young miner was found buried in a shallow grave along the 16 Miles Road in Bartica on Wednesday morning and it is suspected that he was robbed while transporting a quantity of raw gold for his employer and then killed.
Dead is Abraham Mohammed Khan, 24, a father of one who resided at Third Avenue, Bartica.
Police have been told that the attack on Khan occurred around 6pm on Tuesday. His body was found about 10am on Wednesday.
Commander of ‘F’ Division Ravindradat Budhram yesterday said Khan was found with a gaping wound to his head. He added that the police are awaiting the results of an autopsy, which is scheduled to be conducted today, to determine the cause of death.
Khan’s brother, Amit Williams, said while the circumstances surrounding his brother’s death remain sketchy, he has been informed by a camp foreman, who accompanied Khan on his journey, that they were attacked shortly after they left the mining camp. They were destined for their employer’s mine at Bartica with the production.
“He told me that as they were going along the road, there was a tree across, so they had to slow down to pass, when three … men came out and started to fire shots and he get away in the bushes,” Williams related.
He said based on what he was told by the foreman, a bullet grazed Khan’s neck and he was badly beaten before being relieved of the raw gold and his motorcycle.
“He (the foreman) also told me that after he ran in the bushes, he got lost and end up seeing some people who took him to the police station,” Williams said, while noting that afterward the police visited the scene where they discovered Khan’s body.
The men reportedly also fired several shots in the direction of the foreman as they gave chase but eventually lost track of him. They reportedly fled with the raw gold and Khan’s motorcycle.
The foreman has since been arrested.
