Quick action by the joint services yesterday including the employ of an army helicopter saw the rescue of kidnapped Novar, Mahaicony rice farmer and his worker before the $12 million ransom was paid and the arrest of three of the abductors.
Parasram Ramnarace’s sister Gaitri Singh (left) applying an ice pack to the wounds on his head as his wife, Ahilia sits by his side.
Parasram Ramnarace was grabbed around 8 am, beaten with a spade and tied up. His worker Patrick Skeete of Catherine, Mahaicony had been grabbed earlier around 2.30 am.
Reports are that the kidnappers took Ramnarace’s cellular phone and contacted his relatives and demanded the ransom. However, while relatives arranged to take the ransom to the kidnappers, they also called the police who quickly mounted a team and surprised the kidnappers.
The police approached on the ground, while the Guyana Defence Force helicopter scoured the area. One of the men was caught in a tree and another among thick bushes. After Ramnarace and Skeete were rescued, a third man was held with a bag of wet clothes. A shotgun was also recovered.
Members of the joint services stand near the GDF helicopter at Abary after the rescue.
Police sources said they were also looking for two other suspects. The lawmen said too that the ones who were caught were not known to be involved in any illegal activity.
Police said in a press release issued last night that Skeete and Ramnarace had been kidnapped in the Abary backlands by five men. The police said Skeete, who was employed by the Ramnarace Brothers of Dundee, Mahaicony was grabbed first. Ramnarace, who went to the area later to make checks was then grabbed and relieved of $20,000, a gold ring and other personal items. Demands for a ransom were then made, the release said.
However, the police from C Division and Headquarters supported by the army quickly ended the hostage situation.
In an interview with this newspaper, Skeete, who had gone to the backdam since Tuesday afternoon, said that around 2:30 am he was pumping water when four masked men approached him and told him to get down on the ground.
They asked him if he had a cellular phone and he responded that he did not. They then searched his bag, telling him that if they found a phone they would kill him for telling lie.
Parasram Ramnarace
He said the men then placed a piece of wood on his hands and feet and bound him up while they placed the “tongue of an old boot” in his mouth and gagged him with a piece of cloth.
He said the men did not harm him in anyway but his hands and feet were bruised and swollen.
Skeete told this newspaper that the men then took him to a dam far from the camp where he stayed and inquired about his “bossman. I tell them that he gat to shy [apply] fertilizer but ah don’t know what time he would come.”
He said the attackers also asked him if his employer usually went to the backdam with a gun and he told them “no.” They also told him that “is nat you we want; we won’t do you anything when we done we job dem boys gon collect yuh later.” He said the men then left him bound and gagged on the dam.
Just before 8 am, he said, he saw him Ramnarace passing along the dam in his pick-up and he tried to alert him. “But he couldn’t hear me because the pump was keeping noise.”
He said the men were hiding out close to the pump and he saw when the men walked towards Parasram with the gun. After that he heard the men beating his boss.
Some time later, he said, he saw the army chopper and the police in the area but they could not find him. He then managed to remove the cloth from his face and the wood that was strapped to his hands and feet.
Patrick Skeete displaying bruises he sustained on his hands from being bounded.
“Although my feet de tie and me hands de still tie behind my back, I hop and go to the vehicle” where some of the rescuers were and they untied him. They then took him “straight to the bush” where Parasram, who was already untied, was.
A few workers who had gone to the backdam around 7:30 am said they had heard Skeete shouting “Amar, Amar” (Parasram brother’s name) but they did not pay attention to him.
They were also unaware of what was taking place until they saw the chopper and heard the “police licking shots from the dam [Letter ‘T’ Estate] coming in.” They said they were afraid of being hit by “stray bullets” and left the area.
Meanwhile, sources informed this newspaper that the last man who was arrested was a resident of Enmore, East Coast Demerara, who reportedly confessed to being part of the kidnapping scheme. He was walking in the village shortly after police cracked the case when he was spotted by residents acting suspiciously. He was stopped, searched and a bag with wet clothing was recovered from his person. The discovery of the bag led to residents inflicting a beating on him.
Parasram, 37, recounted yesterday that he drove to his camp and found it closed, but did not suspect anything was amiss because he felt Skeete had gone to make a check in the fields. He recalled leaving his vehicle and walking towards the tractor/pump when he noticed a shadow. He thought it was Skeete and called out to his employee but got no response. Parasram said he got the urge to turn around and when he did he saw a man lunging at him with a “clipper blade spade”. He explained that the weapon was made from a blade which had been on his tractor.
Initially, Parasram said, he thought his attacker was deranged and he called out to him not to strike him, but a blow subsequently connected to his head. He said the man beat him with the spade in his head, back and on his feet. The wound to his head started to bleed heavily. By then the other kidnappers had revealed themselves and they threatened to “open his head” when he enquired what was the reason behind the attack. They later threw water on his head wound.
He said the men asked for his brother, Amar who was in another rice field some distance away and said they wanted nothing to do with him because “Amar had big forces”. Parasram said he understood that to mean that his brother had a lot of contacts.
The men then tied his hand and feet and blindfolded him. He recalled that they moved him away from the camp and he believed that he walked about half a mile along the dam before they stopped. While trekking along the dam, he said, he asked the men to untie one of his hands, which they did, but when he requested that they slacken the blindfold it was secured more tightly. He described the area where they stopped as a bushy place close to the creek. While there, he said, the men took his cellular phone, a wristwatch, a gold ring and $20,000.
According to him, they then asked him for $12 million to be delivered in two hours. The men handed him a second round of blows with the spade after he told them that he had no cash at home to pay the ransom.
They then insisted that he call home and inform relatives that he had been kidnapped, they again warned him not to contact his brother Amar. When the call was placed, he said, he spoke with another brother Brijdat before the kidnappers took the phone.
They then gave Brijdat instructions for the money to be dropped off. The plan was that the money would be taken to them by someone on a bicycle in the time requested. Parasram said his brother assured the men that the money would be paid. He then quickly contacted the police.
The lone member of the gang who had a gun decided to be the lookout man for the ransom so he went up to a tree and remained there, leaving the gun at base of the tree.
The men were later startled when the police turned up instead of Parasram relative. Parasram was in high praise for the police saying that he is not sure what would have happened if they had not shown up when they did.
This crime situation is totally out of control.At one time it was only Georgetown that these thins were known to happen but now it has become widespread. One wonders if the state of the country is the reason for things becoming as they are.
The govt have to provide jobs in an effort to curtail the crime situation.
This crime wave is getting out of control thanks to America for sending back all the deportees!!! There is no other explanation folks. Govt has to implement measures to keep track of this group…oops…someone may protest this move.
This is what happens when the joint services work together and act swiftly. Great job, JS. Keep up the good work!
So it is alright for these to commit crimes? Excuses, excuses. Always someone else’s fault.
Dude, do you think that the government is able to keep tabs on these people bearing in mind how inept they seem to be.
Dude I think canada sending them back by the plane load as well.
These countries have a right to get rid of people who they accommodate in their country and then commit crimes.
If you don’t agree with it write Harper a note.
Come on folks JS my foot. Don’t buy into this show the Army and foolice getting into here to mek it seem like they are saving our people.
This is the first story you hear they have used the helicopter. The main reason for all this show is because of the criticisms these fools have gotten over the past few weeks.
The key here is can they sustain these efforts and improve on them. That is the key. It is also worthy to note that when they purchased these antique helicopters they said they were state of the art. This as we now know is all bull.
Briantee,,,,,If the population in Guyana is 750,000 and the Government provide 2 Million jobs they will still be crimes like these and even worst,,,So stop spilling garbage about more jobs, there are Criminals all over the world and crimes like these are committed everday…
Excellent! this is the kind of work that the Joint Forces are capable of. One of the first act of the new National Front Goverenment would be to make the pay of the joint forces and the judiciary one of the highest in the Caribbean. Change must come, no more racial entities.
Brandon have you ever stop to pay attension to who the kidnapers are and why……Brandon you notice how the kidniping is organise and who does the dirty work.
The Joint Service is on a while goose hunt. Kidnaping will happen over and over. The Security forces in the Guyana Government need to examin the operation of many business men and women. They can callin the Jamacian Secret Service for some advise.
Great job- Congrats Joint Services. I wonder how Kaieteur news is going to report this.
The difference with kn and sn is that kn printed the names of the suspects sn didn’t.
go read kn and see how they report it.
names plus pictures, Sn cannot afford a digital camera, just wasting too much time with de AXE.
SN cant afford to buy camera, didn’t the dictator withhold ads which is a major source of revenue from SN?
I wonder if he holding out revenue the same way from GECOM, hmmmm inquiring minds want to know!
GREAT JOB!! give the cops a day off with pay!! Of course, samaroo will have something negative to say about this.
Samaroo dos’nt give a damn about the well being of another human being. If this had turned out tragic, he would’ve been the first one to post negative comments blaming the PPP for this.
cak eye always in a negative move, what you expext from the a-fee-cee.
ehehehehe
cack eye samaroo wasnt born like this..
its rohee do him so…
so cack eye samaroo got no other chioce to blame all social ills on pee pee pee.
watch cack eye samaroo cringe everytime rohee foto post here..
good job js…weed out de crooks from your midst and do the job you are paid to do..that is..to sreve and protect…
These skidsnappers should not be allowed to see the light of day for a long time. Well done police and army I am happy to be writing goood things about you guys. However, I must say that I am concerned about the wild shooting. One has to be extremely careful when one lays down fire in a hostage situation. Anyway all is well that ends well.
Must give credit where credit is due. The war on crime must go on. The end will justify the means.
War on what? heheheheheeh u are delusional my friend.
Very good police work.
This kind of thing has got to stop.
Sentences got to be severe .
This is LAW LESS NESS to the highest degree.
Guyana needs to be cleaned up .
This is a Cancer growing in Guyana.
Got to stop in order to save this beautiful Country.
nice work by the ranks all kidnappings should be this sucessful.
wat u mean by all kidnappings should be successful?
Congratulations to the joint services. It’s nice to see the good guys win every once in a while. An exemplary sentence for the guilty would send a clear message that Guyanese don’t condone kidnapping. Jail and hard labour please.
Extracted: “Jail and hard labour please.”
Comment: It is about time we have a working justice system so armed criminals and all other types of criminals – including white collar types – are processed by the system. We also cannot just congratulate the Joint Services when they apprehend or kill criminals; we must also demand that the Police do their job in detecting crimes against the state and people. I am talking about corruption in government; drug smuggling and money laundering.
Dandy…”I am talking about corruption in government; drug smuggling and money laundering.” You are talking about grabage,,where are your evidence to support your stupid statement???The police did a commendable job here and instead of you commending them you went into the wilderness searching for garbage…When will you people ever be positive in any statement???
Once again, great posts Borapork and Andy.
What I find interesting is that the Joint Services never train for these types of situations. In this case they acted very well – sending officers by land and by air. They need to start doing training exercises in ‘what-if’ situations. What if the criminals escape in a boat down one of the little creeks? What’s the best way to apprehend the criminals and ensure the victims are not hurt? They need to have training exercises beforehand so when a crime does occur, they know exactly how to act. They need to learn that they cannot just shoot criminals and then wipe their hands clean. Criminals are valuable, they can provide information which will help capture their associates and even some big fish who provide them with guns and sometimes even police gear.
Also, the jail sentences in Guyana are a joke. Kidnappers and murderers need the minimum of 25-life. Of course, this will come back to the police – we need to be sure that they have proper investigating and evidence gathering skills. When an accused is brought before the courts we need to know for sure the evidence points to him and we’re positive the innocent aren’t locked away for crimes because of sloppy investigations and lazy officers. Even in the great big US, sloppy investigations have led to innocent men being locked up and even executed, we need to ensure that doesn’t happen in our country.
Let’s just be thankful for any improvement even if it appears insignificant to you. Constant criticism becomes demotivating after a while. When the whip has to be cracked I’ll be first inline to apply it with full measure. “Give Jack his jacket.”
in deed the police did a good job in apprehending the would be kidnappers after being informed of the would be crime, i hear you dandy andy, and also agree what you said about the police doing their job of not only the apprehension of criminals, but detecting and solving the many unsolved crimes which are gathering dust on shelves, on the other hand the govt is the govt, the police investigating corruption by govt officials is way out of their professional reach.
We expect the police to detect and apprehend criminals whether they be white collar criminals or not. And while we doing that the AG needs to investigate all the corrupt gov’t officals. ASAP!!!
Folks please be nice to soldier I mean if the foolice is able to bring an swift end to one crime among the other 1500 they probably had all month and after the Ricky Jainarine debacle you have to expect that Jagdoe and Rohee are paying close attention to the noise generated from the blogs and the people in general.
17 years apparently they are now waking up. Good to see they at least have some small itty bit of shame left however.
when people like you soldier start accepting the facts that
your ppp regime is a bunch of inept visionless politicians
running guyana,untill then get used to the criticizing…
dandy andy
live in garbage city so he must talk trash always..its to be expected…
yo cack eye turbo aka cack eye samaroo not every ting is politics…looks like yuh eat a political book….
Solidwood evidence is in NYC courts. Mek an appt to see judge irrizary.
Thought of the Day
“You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.”
~ Indira Gandhi
I must congratulate the gpf for quickly apprehending these bandits who abducted mr. ramnarace and mr. skeete, this is how it should be done all the time, i hope these low life get a speedy trial and sent off to prison where they belongs.
THANK GOODNESS NO ONE WAS HURT. OBVIOUSLY THE KIDNAPPERS, ESP THE LONE GUNMAN HAD TO ERR SOMEWAY.. LEAVING THE GUN AT THE BASE OF THE TREE.. SUPERB WORK BY THE JOINT SERVICE & GDF.. THESE ARE REAL GENUINE GUYS THAT ARE IN THE FORCE. I THINK PARASS [PARASRAM] SHOULD GIVE BOTH FORCES A REWARD.. ITS THEIR JOB I KNOW BUTIT COULD HAVE GONE CONTRARY… I KNOW PARASS & AMAR. THEY ARE INDEED WEALTHY RICE FARMERS..
no rewards for the cops, that’s what they are paid to do, we encourage slackness when we start giving them reward for doing what they are supposed to do.