The police are investigating the possible murder/ suicide of a couple whose bodies were discovered yesterday morning on a trail at Long Creek on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway with gunshot wounds.
The police believe that the murder was committed by Ajay Budhan, a 26-year-old farmer of Long Creek, Linden-Soesdyke Highway and his girlfriend, Ashley Singh, an 18-year-old from Soesdyke was the victim. It is believed that Budhan then turned the weapon on himself. Budhan was a licensed firearm holder. The shootings are believed to have occurred sometime between 12.30 am and 6.30 am yesterday.
According to the police, the couple left a resort at Hillfoot, Soesdyke-Linden Highway, at around 12.30 yesterday morning in a white Toyota Tundra. The police said that yesterday morning a 23-year-old labourer of Long Creek saw a white Tundra, which matched the description of Budhan’s vehicle, parked on the northern side of a trail with its lights on and a bullet hole in the window at the right side of the front of the vehicle. The labourer became suspicious and reported what he witnessed to the police.
The police said that upon arrival at the scene, they found the lifeless body of Singh slumped in the right front seat with a gunshot entry wound to the right side of her neck and an exit wound on the left side of the neck and shoulder. Budhan’s’s body was on the ground, face up, on the left side of the vehicle, with a gunshot wound to the right side of his head. A shotgun was found to the right of his body.
The body of Budhan was identified by his brother, Aaron Budhan and Singh’s body by her cousin, Roland Baya.
The shotgun was examined, and a round was found in the breach. Eighteen empty 12-gauge casings and nine live 12-gauge cartridges were recovered at the scene. Two Apple 13 Pro Max iPhones were also recovered. The two were taken to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre where they were pronounced dead. Their bodies were then taken to the Memorial Gardens Funeral Home pending post-mortem examinations.
Lakhan Budhan, the father of Ajay Budhan, spoke to Stabroek News and related that on the morning of his son’s death, his son-in-law arrived at his home and told him, ‘to come see what had happened’ to Ajay. Lakhan related that he saw his son on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head. He said he did not check the vehicle to see who else was shot but when he did, he saw Ajay’s girlfriend had been shot too. Ajay’s relatives said that he lived alone, but from time to time, would bring Singh to his home and then return her to her home. Ajay’s father said he cannot say exactly what transpired except that he saw a graze on his son’s vehicle which it never had.
Investigations have thus far revealed that Ajay Budhan was a licensed firearm holder of a semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun and the owner of a white Toyota Tundra, Registration Number, GAD 8403. The police report stated that the couple were in a relationship at the time of their demise.
