A Reliance Settlement, East Canje, Berbice man was murdered yesterday and money he had withdrawn from a bank the day before was carted off by the killers.
Hemraj Pardesi, who travelled back and forth between Guyana and the United States was found during the wee hours of yesterday in his yard with blood oozing from his nose. It appears that he was strangled.
Pardesi also known as ‘Prem’, 67, was discovered lying face-down . The upper flat of his house was heavily ransacked.
According to a source, the man’s face was swollen at the time of the discovery. Further, several traces of what appeared to be blood were also seen on the step leading to the upper flat of his house. There was a wound at the top of his head where it is suspected that he was initially struck.
Following the discovery, the man’s body was transported to the Arokium Funeral Home where he was officially pronounced dead. His body will remain there for a post-mortem examination.
The police in a statement last night said that following the murder, police investigators arrested four suspects.
“Further investigations have led the detectives to apprehend a fifth suspect … after a long pursuit in the Canje Creek and backlands.
“The fifth suspect was jailed in 2019 for a Chinese Supermarket robbery but was released from prison in February 2021.
“Police are continuing the hunt for a sixth male and a female who is suspected to have lured the victim out of his yard briefly, which allowed the perpetrators to gain entrance”, the statement added.
A police source yesterday said that based on their information the man was attacked and strangled on the external stairs after which the two perpetrators broke into the upper flat where it is suspected that they stole the money as investigators did not find any in the house.
According to the man’s relatives, Pardesi had rented out the lower flat of his building where a Superbet is being operated and he travelled back and forth between Guyana and the US.
The father of three reportedly returned to Guyana just around three weeks ago and was occupying the upper flat of his building alone as he would normally do when here.
In an earlier statement yesterday, the police said that Pardesi was last seen “alive and well by his nephew on the said date (Tuesday), in the company of another male.”
Stabroek News was told that the nephew had visited his uncle sometime around 8 pm on Tuesday and when he left the premises his uncle remained in conversation with a known acquaintance.
Pardesi’s relative, Jaiwantie Singh, explained, that around 4 am yesterday she was informed that the man had been found murdered in his house.
“Them only tell me that thief man come and somebody murder uncle Prem and then when abbay go them police na allow abbay to go in and when abbay go station the police say they got to investigate”, she said.
According to Singh, she was informed that her uncle sustained an injury to his head. “He been good, he use to give me money, he use to give me clothes, he very good”, she relayed.
Yesterday morning, police placed into custody a 22-year-old male, a 28-year-old male, a 31-year-old male and a 36-year-old female. Stabroek News was told that three of the persons are related to Pardesi while the other was a friend.
After questioning those persons in custody, police learned of the withdrawal of $800,000 from the bank on Tuesday since one of Pardesi’s friends was with him at the time.
Then based on information gathered, police launched a search in the Canje area, where they found a prime suspect hiding in the Canje Creek next to the Rose Hall Estate wharf. According to a police source, the suspect, who was released from prison in February after completing a two-year sentence on a charge of robbery under arms committed on a Canje supermarket, was in the water with only his mouth and nose exposed at the time of the arrest.
After intense questioning, the man confessed yesterday to being a part of the attack which left Pardesi dead. The source confirmed that the man told investigators that he along with another male were hired by a female who shared a close relationship with Pardesi to carry out the robbery.
Pardesi’s friend told investigators that when he left the man’s premises minutes before midnight, Pardesi was heading upstairs. However, the suspect relayed that it was then that the female phoned the man to distract him to allow them to gain entry as they were already in the area at the time that the friend left the premises.
According to the confession, the two assailants attacked the man while he was on the phone and after the man attempted to fight back they strangled him.
The suspect said after Pardesi fell at the bottom of the stairs they rushed upstairs where they used his keys to gain entry to the house after which they carted off the cash.
Stabroek News was told that Pardesi withdrew the money from the bank to carry out renovation works on his premises. Construction material was seen in his yard.
In 2019, Pardesi made headlines after he had accused a detective constable of planting ganja at the Superbet shop which he was operating at the time. However, CCTV footage had eventually cleared the detective who at that time had already quit the force after being transferred to the Tactical Services Unit.
