Two former murder accused, who are suspects in the disappearance of a Crabwood Creek pensioner, have led police to the discovery of burnt remains at a temple at Bennet Dam, Rosignol Village, West Coast Berbice.
The remains are suspected to be those of Saeed Hamid, 65, who has been missing since April 19th.
Commander of ‘B’ Division Lyndon Alves told Stabroek News that the remains have to be sent for DNA testing to confirm that they are those of Hamid.
Alves said the suspects were among those who had been arrested after Hamid was reported missing in April. Both suspects, Satrohan Madray, 34, of Bennet Dam, and Antonio Balrup, of Edinburgh, East Bank Berbice, are known to police as they were previously charged with murder.
Alves confirmed that the two, said to have been known to Hamid, were rearrested after investigators received information on Wednesday. After intense interrogation on the same day, he said, the two suspects took investigators to the temple, where they reportedly claimed that the missing man was killed and his body was burnt to destroy any possible evidence to link them to the murder. “Police discovered charred remains, what appears to be bone from the location pinpointed by the two suspects,” he added.
A reliable police source yesterday told Stabroek News that the two suspects are “blaming” each other for dealing Hamid a blow to his head. However, the source noted, that both men have reportedly confessed to luring Hamid to the West Coast of Berbice.
Hamid was last seen leaving his Lot 41 Queenstown, Corriverton house on April 16th with several items. The source said, that the items were not discovered at the suspected crime scene.
Stabroek News had previously reported that Hamid had told a friend that he was heading to Rosignol Village, West Coast Berbice, to transact some business. His friend had said that a man had purchased some items from him and Hamid wanted to collect the money owed to him.
In late April, this publication spoke with the hire car driver who picked up Hamid from his home. That driver had noted that he dropped Hamid off at the Berbice Bridge entrance, where he boarded another vehicle, which was waiting for him.
“Right through someone calling him on his phone and he telling them he coming, he tell the person when we left, when we deh Rose Hall (Town) he tell the person on the phone he at Rose Hall and then when we about to meet the bridge, the person call back and like them say they sending a car for him,” the driver, who spoke on condition of anonymity, had said.
Murder charges
Madray, who reportedly operates the temple, which is attached to his house, was charged in February, 2014, with the murder of a construction worker, Dinesh ‘Kevin’ Harrylall.
It was alleged that he committed the murder at his house between February 16th and February 17th, 2014, while using both a knife and a rolling pin to inflict the fatal injuries on Harrylall, 20, of Woodley Park.
Harrylall was found lying face up on a carpet with a gaping wound to his right temple and across his forehead. He also sustained seven stab wounds to the back of his head and his right hand was “black and blue.”
The rolling pin was found in the kitchen and the knife was recovered in the temple. However, Madray was freed last year after a jury found him not guilty in the High Court in Berbice.
Balrup, a former police constable, was charged along with Solomon Milton in 2014 with the murder of Canje resident Patricia Samaroo, who was killed in March of that year. Both men were freed in December of 2014 after a magistrate upheld a no-case submission that was made by their attorney at the preliminary inquiry into the charge.
Stabroek News was told in April that Hamid and his wife had a sudden split due to his decision to testify against his son, Asif Hamid, who is charged with murder. Asif Hamid’s case is expected to enter the High Court in Berbice later this year.
