Double murder accused Kapildeo Gangadin was recaptured yesterday, one day after he escaped from the Lusignan Prison with plans to flee to neighbouring Suriname.
The Guyana Prison Service (GFS) yesterday confirmed that Gangadin was arrested at a police road block around 9.30am in the vicinity of Onderneeming, West Bank Demerara (WBD).
At the time, he was the passenger of a route 32 minibus which was heading to Parika, East Bank Essequibo (EBE).
According to a GPS statement, the road block was immediately set up by the police, who were acting on intelligence received.
Gangadin was taken into police custody and questioned, during which he reportedly said that in his bid to escape local law enforcement officials he was planning to travel to Suriname.
Stabroek News was reliably informed that Gangadin told investigators that he decided to travel there from Parika instead of Berbice since he knew he was on the police radar.
Gangadin also shared the details about his escape plot with the police.
The prisoner said that in order to escape the prison, he “picked” the shackles that were around his feet and scaled the fence using a piece of wood.
He said he then ventured to the farm area, where he climbed a gate. While there, he said, he noticed security passing but he managed to hide.
After they were gone, Gangadin related that he crawled to the nearby dumpsite, which led him to the backdam. He stayed in the backdam until yesterday morning.
Gangadin said once he was out from the backdam yesterday, he met a man who he told that he was grazing cows and he wasn’t feeling well so he needed to call his family. As a result, the man allowed him to use his cellular phone.
Gangadin further told the police that he called his uncle, who resides in Canada, and told him that he escaped from prison and he was in need of some money.
As a result, he said the uncle sent him money. The funds were transferred in the man’s name.
Gangadin said he collected the money from the man and walked to Montrose.
Upon arrival, he said he noticed a police road block. He said he journeyed further up the road and joined a minibus to Georgetown.
When he arrived in the city, Gangadin said he purchased some clothing and a cellular phone after which he joined a route 32 minibus.
In a previous statement, the GPS had said that initial investigation revealed that Gangadin escape after “tampering” with the quarantine section of the Lusignan Prison.
Gangadin, who was admitted to prison last week, was being housed in the quarantine section.
He was discovered missing sometime around 4.05 am on Thursday during a routine check.
“Upon gaining entry from the housing unit, he (Gangadin) ventured to the back of the prison where he used a cloth-pole to scale the fence,” the GPS had previously explained.
“He proceeded into the farms where he scaled the gate and made good his escape into the dumpsite,” the statement added.
In the statement yesterday, Director of Prisons (ag) Nicklon Elliott warned that officers who failed to adhere to the established security rules of the prison system will be sanctioned.
Last Wednesday, Gangadin, a 24-year-old resident of Annandale, on the East Coast of Demerara, was remanded to prison after he was charged with the murders of businessman Ganesh Persaud and Mukesh Mangra.
He was remanded to prison until January 17, 2022.
Persaud was robbed of a gold chain and stabbed in his family’s electronic store at Strathspey, also on the East Coast, on October 15.
Hours after the attack, police arrested Gangadin, whom they said admitted to the crime. He was found in possession of Persaud’s gold chain.
While in custody for Persaud’s murder, police received information that Gangadin was also wanted in connection with the 2020 murder of Mangra.
As a result, Gangadin was questioned and during a video interview he admitted his involvement in Mangra’s murder.
Gangadin reportedly told investigators that he only hit Mangra with a cutlass. After the crime, Gangadin told the police he fled to neighbouring Suriname.
The body of Mangra, called ‘Paul’, 27, of Coldingen Squatting Area, East Coast Demerara, was discovered on the evening of January 18, 2020, with multiple stab wounds and lacerations about his body.
Family members had told Stabroek News that they believed that Mangra was attacked and killed during a robbery.
