The decomposing bodies of a Canadian hotelier and his worker were found yesterday afternoon in the man’s hotel at Number 63 Village, Corentyne with the two apparently tortured as body parts had been hacked away.
Dead are Vivekanand Brijbassi, also known as ‘Vaker’, 71, and his workman reportedly called ‘Diamond’, who was still to be identified up to last evening. Brijbassi, a Canadian citizen, was the owner of the Sunsplash Holiday Beach Resort located at Number 63 Village, Corentyne, which overlooks the beach. The duo was reportedly found bound and gagged with injuries about their bodies in the dining area in the upper flat of the two-storey concrete building by lawmen.
According to a police source, due to the state of the bodies, it appeared that the men had been dead for more than four days now. In addition, the entire building was ransacked.
In a statement, the police said that they are investigating the murder of the hotelier – who they identified as Vivekanand Narpatty, and a so far unidentified male who is believed to be an employee of the hotel. According to the statement, the murders occurred sometime between last week Thursday and yesterday. The police said that the businessman had returned to Guyana on September 20th and was residing at his hotel.
The statement said that at about 11:20 am yesterday, the bodies of the victims were discovered on the second flat in the balcony area. The businessman’s body was found with two toes from his left foot severed and the unidentified male was found with both hands tied behind the back onto a post in the balcony and the left foot completely severed from the ankle, the police said.
The statement added that the bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition and are presently at the Bailey’s Funeral Home awaiting autopsies.
No arrests have yet been made.
Police Regional Commander Calvin Brutus, who was on the scene yesterday afternoon, noted last evening that investigators were working to identify the second deceased and were searching for another workman who relatives and residents reported would also be at the hotel. Residents told Stabroek News that they only knew the missing man “by seeing him at the hotel all the time.”
Krishna Boodram.
Canada
Meanwhile, according to information gathered, Brijbassi migrated many years ago to Canada where he started a family and then returned to operate his hotel. However, after his family wanted to return to Canada, the man started to travel back and forth.
His sister Krishna Boodram explained yesterday that whenever Brijbassi is in Guyana, he would regularly contact his daughters and wife who are all in Canada but after he failed to answer their calls for a few days, one of his daughters made contact with a friend in a nearby area requesting him to check on her father. “But after the boy went, the scent couldn’t make him go in and then he called people,” she related.
Persons in the area did not know much yesterday afternoon as there are no houses located in close proximity to the hotel, which is located at the end of a dam in Number 63 Village.
Boodram yesterday said that she last saw her brother on December 19th, when he visited her and they had dinner together. “But he like he didn’t want to intrude because I had visitors because he does stay here sometimes when he come and go and check on his hotel because he was scared to stay there,” she said.
However, she said, it seemed that her brother had finally made up his mind to stay at the hotel. “Sometimes he does rent place and stay and then go and check but like he make up his mind,” she said.
According to Boodram, her brother also told her that he had two persons staying with him. “I ask him if he nah scared and he said he get two friends staying with him and now I hear one dead and one missing,” she said.
Boodram said that her brother always dreamt of operating a hotel by the beach where he can relax and listen to his favourite calypso. She explained that the hotel, which has some 12 rooms in the upper storey, was functioning many years ago but ceased operations for some time after Brijbassi migrated with his family.
According to the sister, Brijbassi seemed to have had the intention of revamping the facility and had spoken of improving security at the location. “He say he woulda put barb wire right up,” she said. Meanwhile, Stabroek News was told that Brijbassi in the past had reported an incident at the Number 62 Village Police Outpost of a man and another person robbing him of a sum of cash. Persons yesterday said that one man had been charged for the offence.
Residents of the area recalled that Brijbassi and the deceased, identified as his watchman and friend, would often visit shops in the area. One shop owner said, “Them does come here and buy thing fah cook and eat and you does see them a walk or he does drive he yellow car.”
Brijbassi was also the owner of several plots of land along the Number 36 Village, Corentyne main road. The land was left to him by his father who was the owner of a popular rice mill in the Upper Corentyne area. His sister said that after he migrated, persons who were occupying the land and had owed him money gained ownership of some of the land “but he wasn’t upset because he said he gone so long.”
The woman said her brother was “loved by everyone.”
“The last time I saw him he looked so handsome with his flower shirt and new style sunglass,” she related.
Brijbassi’s wife and daughters are expected to return to Guyana sometime today.
