Investigators probing the murder of a La Grange, West Bank Demerara granny, who was found lifeless in her ransacked home on Sunday, have arrested a 16-year-old.
He is currently assisting in the investigation.
This comes after Police earlier took another person into custody.
Regional Commander, Senior Superintendent Errol Watts, told Stabroek News they are currently pursuing several leads in a bid to make further arrests.
While he refrained from going into details, Watts said that they are currently searching for a driver of a car that they believed was involved in the act.
Eighty-five-year-old Bibi Nasmonisha Ramjit known as ‘Aunty Bibi’, a shop owner of Old Road, La Grange, was found bound and gagged on Sunday by neighbours.
An autopsy confirmed that the woman died as a result of strangulation.
The police report stated that at about 3pm on Sunday, a 59-year-old farmer of Schoonord, West Bank Demerara, went to purchase eddoes from Ramjit, however as she did not have change for his five thousand dollar note, the farmer told her he would bring the money later and went away.
At around 5pm, the farmer returned to the shop where he observed the shop door and the back door to the upper flat wide open. He called out several times for Ramjit but got no response.
The farmer, police said proceeded to the upper flat of the house where he looked into a bedroom and saw the deceased lying motionless on her back in her bed.
He immediately raised an alarm and the police were summoned. On arrival, the entire scene was processed and the body was checked for any marks of violence, but none was observed, according to the brief police statement.
It is suspected that the woman was attacked by person/s who went to the house to commit robbery since this is not the first time she had been robbed.
According to the woman’s relatives, this is the third occasion for the year the woman’s home was targeted.
In the first instance which occurred earlier this year, persons entered the house and stole money after ransacking her bedroom.
A relative related that her nephew, after being informed of the robbery, had changed her locks.
Sometime between June and July her home was attacked again. The thieves entered while she was taking her afternoon nap. They ransacked the house in search of cash and stole her money.
Stabroek News was told that the elderly woman was advised by her children who reside overseas, to stop operating the shop and she agreed to do so once all her goods were sold.
This newspaper understands that the elderly woman did not report the previous robberies as she had explained that she was not aware of any suspects.
