“One year has come and gone, and my son’s killer is still a free man, roaming the streets of Lethem.”
Those were the words of Puran Persaud of Lot 165 Henrietta Housing Scheme, Essequibo Coast. Persaud’s son, 32-year-old Haimchand Persaud, was murdered at about 02:30h on April 18, 2017 in Lethem, Region Nine. He was stabbed once to the chest.
Dead: Haimchand Persaud
Speaking to this newspaper in a recent interview, the still grieving Persaud said his son and daughter-in-law Shenika were returning home after selling at a pageant held in the community when he was attacked and killed by someone known to the couple.
According to the father, his daughter-in-law had over $800,000 in cash in a handbag she was carrying, but the killer did not take it, leading the family to believe that the incident was not a robbery.
Persaud, was a security guard at the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry in Lethem. The dead man’s father related that based on the reports coming out after the incident, the killer was known to the couple. He said that he has exhausted all means in trying to get justice for his son. He said that according to information the family received recently, his son’s killer is living with his brother in deep Takutu, and frequently visits relatives in Lethem; and yet no arrest has been made.
The father said that he has written to Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, Commissioner of Police, Crime Chief, and Officer in Charge of Lethem Police Station on several occasions. A copy of one of the letters, dated February 26, 2018, was shown to this publication.
The father, in tears, told this publication that he has not received any acknowledgement of the letters written, and is very frustrated with the way the Lethem Police are handling the matter.
