A 35-year-old fisherman of Canal Number One was murdered on Saturday allegedly after he slapped his cousin for disrespecting his uncle.
Dead is Seeram Krishna called ‘Vicky’ of Lot 24 ‘A’ Conservancy Dam Canal Number One, West Bank Demerara.
According to a police report, the incident took place around 18:30 hrs on Saturday at Conservancy Dam, Canal Number One. The police said that the suspect, a 19-year-old labourer, was taken into custody.
Enquiries disclosed that the now deceased man and the suspect are also neighbours and around 10:00 hrs on Saturday, Krishna and the suspect’s father, a 59-year-old vendor, started to drink extra white rum at the suspect’s residence.
Around 11:00 hrs, the police said, the suspect returned home from work and Krishna and the suspect went onto the Conservancy Dam and continued drinking with other friends.
When the suspect’s father joined them some hours later, the police said, the suspect started to insult his father. The father went away, at which point Krishna reportedly told the suspect that he should not have insulted his father. A heated argument ensued, and Krishna reportedly dealt the suspect a slap to his face, leading to a scuffle. The suspect, it was reported, ran to his home, returned with a cutlass and dealt Krishna a chop to the left-side of his face. Krishna fell to the ground and the suspect made good his escape.
Samantha Merly, Krishna’s wife told Stabroek News that her husband had visited his uncle next door and they began consuming alcohol. The woman added that she retired to bed and her husband woke her up to take the cows to graze. She added that she left and returned home at approximately 17:30 hrs and found the men still consuming alcohol, but not in the yard, at the dam.
Merly said her cousin and two other friends were there at the time and she could see them from the steps where she was sitting. She said the cousin called his father to join them, but later began insulting him and had rushed to hit him when Krishna intervened.
“Me husband go between and send he father inside and tell he stay out pon the dam,”Merly related. “He father go inside, put on he clothes and he go out pon the road. When he go out pon the road he [his son] still a curse and go on he nah done, about how he father a go bring police pon he.
“So me husband seh no, wah yuh father go bring police pon yuh fah? Yuh father nah bring police the man a go pon he own mission. He still a curse and go on and a tell meh husband how he a pick up fuh he father. So me husband seh boy meh nah pick up fuh yuh father but yuh can’t curse the man.
“And he seh that how he go knock me husband and me husband tell he don’t talk fight talk. Me husband slap he. Dem two scramble and fall pon the ground. He get up and he go inside by them and when he come out back, he come out with a cutlass and pelt one chop pon me husband neck and me husband fall to the ground.
“About couple minutes after me hear dem boy holler hey the man dead boy. When me hear dem holler that me and me daughter run out because me and she did sit down right pon the step. Me tell she bring the light because that was about minutes to 7. The blood a pour from he neck and meh tell she run and bring a sheet leh meh wrap it.
“By time she can go in, bring the sheet and come back, me husband done dead. He blow three time like hard and me a listen back me nah hear he blow back. When I go low down to he, me nah see he a breathe. One boy with a phone light shine and tell me he done dead.”
A report was made to La Grange Police Station, and ranks responded to the scene. The woman explained that the suspect hid in the yard and surrendered when the police arrived.
Krishna was taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. His body is at Ezekiel Funeral Parlour, awaiting a post-mortem examination.
The suspect remains in custody, assisting with the ongoing investigations.
