…two months after boat mystery
By Gaulbert Sutherland
The whereabouts of 10-year-old Ricky Jainarine remain a mystery two months after he disappeared following an Essequibo River boat collision that left his father and another man dead and despite tantalizing clues, authorities have thus far failed to pinpoint the other vessel.
Not knowing where the lad is keeps his mother, Salimoon Rahaman in limbo. “I can’t explain the feeling I am having right now”, she told Stabroek News last week. Checking with the police is futile, she said. “Every time you come out, they does tell me they investigating and they can’t tell me nothing”.
Ricky Jainarine
Jainarine Dinanauth
Henry Gibson
Ricky’s father, Jainarine Dinanauth, 45, and a family friend, Henry Gibson, 45, died in the incident. On the evening of August 11, the three were heading to Hog Island in the Essequibo River. The bodies of the two men were discovered in the shattered boat the next morning but there was no sign of Ricky. Since then, a relentless search by Rahaman failed to yield any sign of the lad.
Many questions remain unanswered in the wake of the incident. The police seem no closer to apprehending anyone involved in the collision though tantalizing clues have surfaced. Among these are blue paint on a green Coast Guard boat and green paint on Dinanauth’s white and blue boat.
Rahaman and other members of the public believe that Coast Guard ranks were involved. Their suspicions were heightened after three Coast Guard ranks were charged with the murder of Bartica gold dealer, Dweive Kant Ramdass in the Essequibo River. The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) investigated but said this was “inconclusive”.
But the Force’s Board of Inquiry, which had been set up to examine Ramdass’ abduction and death and which was additionally instructed to speak to the families of the dead men, found that the Coast Guard vessel –RC12 was in the Essequibo River at the time that Dinanauth and the two others were in the river.
The Report commented that the accident occurred at a time which the Coast Guard vessel RC12 was reportedly moored at the Fort Island wharf. However it stated: “It should be noted that a resupply trip was done on the said day to Parika from 16:35 to 17:55 hours, the vessel returned around the time that Mr Jainarayan’s [Dinanauth] boat was on its way from Parika to Hog Island”.
An investigation by the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) had found blue paint on the Coast Guard vessel. And there were green paint marks on the blue and white boat that the trio was in. Persons had also reported that in the days following August 11, the Coast Guard boat was dry-docked for three days and there were reports that a section had been painted over.
The blue paint samples from the Coast Guard boat have been handed over to the police for testing but no results have been forthcoming. Efforts to contact, Police Divisional Commander, Paulette Morrison, over the past week were unsuccessful and when finally reached on Friday, she said that she was in a meeting. However, Rahaman told Stabroek News that she spoke to the commander on Thursday and was only told that investigations are continuing.
Rahaman had said that there were persons, who had witnessed the incident but were afraid to come forward. She had informed the police about an alleged eyewitness but was told by them that she would have to get him to come forward.
Officially, the police have said that a suspect was apprehended and later released but they are still pursuing leads into a green boat that he was aboard on the day in question. The police said the suspect was apprehended after the force received information of the suspicious movements of a boat on the night when the accident occurred. The man was questioned and he denied being involved in an accident, stating that the boat he had in his possession on the night in question did not belong to him and had been returned to Venezuela.
The police said diligent enquiries were conducted but the boat in question was never found nor identified. The suspect who had been in custody, had habeas corpus proceedings filed on his behalf and he was subsequently released on bail. The man had denied possessing a green boat, but according to the police, reliable sources informed that the boat the man was using on the date in question was painted green.
The fact that the other boat involved in the incident did not contact the authorities following the incident also raised questions. Suspicious too was the fact that items Dinanauth had on his person were missing though his licensed firearm was left in his pocket. He had just returned from the interior, where he mined and reportedly had some raw gold on his person along with over $500,000 and a gold watch, all of which was missing when his body was found. He also had a bag that has not been found.
Additionally, the autopsy results had shown that both men had died of asphyxiation due to drowning but that there was also blunt trauma to the head, chest and stomach. It was postulated that the men could have been beaten and their heads held under water. This also seemed likely as the bodies were found in the shattered boat and not in the water.
Up to now, Rahaman said, no “proper answer” is forthcoming from anyone, least of all the police. “I just want to know where my son is”, she said, “I want to hear what answers they will give me for him”. The once daily searches she undertook, scouring the wide Essequibo has stopped. “I don’t think he is in the river up to now”. But whenever, she hears something; a rumour, she tries to investigate. “I believe he is somewhere out there”.
She has returned to farming to earn her livelihood and said that it is hard now since there is no one to help. And other problems have cropped up. Transportation for her produce is difficult to obtain, she said. Rahaman has contacted the police commander to see if she could get back the engine from the boat but was told to hold on. She related that she was told she could not get the engine as yet as investigations are still continuing. That is all she has been hearing for the past two months.
IT SOUNDS LIKE NEITHER A THOROUGH INVESTIGATION OR SEARCH HAS BEEN CONDUCTED HERE. IF THIS CHILD IF DEAD (AND IT SOUNDS LIKE HE IS) THEN IN THE NAME OF EVERYTHING THAT IS DECENT, PRODUCE HIS BODY SO THAT THIS POOR WOMAN CAN BURY HER CHILD AND HAVE SOME CLOSER FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE. THE BEHAVIOR OF THE COAST GUARDS (I DON’T MEAN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM) LEAVE MUCH TO BE DESIRED SINCE THEY HAVE ROBBED AND KILLED THE VERY PEOPLE THEY SHOULD BE PROTECTING. I FIND THIS MOST DISCONSORTING AND IT DOES NOT RESONATE WELL WITH ME, SINCE I AM A MOTHER. HAS THE KILLER/KILLERS EVEN STOPPED TO THINK HOW THIS POOR WOMAN STOMACH CONTINUES TO CHURN DURING HER SLEEPLESS NIGHTS FOR TWO LONG MONTHS AS SHE WONDERS WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CHILD SHE CARRIED IN HER BODY THEN GAVE BIRTH TO? AND AS FOR THE POLICE IN GUYANA, SINCE THERE IS NO PROPER POLICE DEPARTMENT (JUST LOOK AT ALL THE MURDERS FOR WHICH NO ONE WAS OR WILL EVER BE CHARGED) WITH NO POLICY OR PROCEDURE IN PLACE (THIS IS COWBOY COUNTRY GUYANA WHERE ANYTHING GOES)THEY ARE ONLY PROLONGING THIS WOMAN’S AGONY. HOW COULD YOU BE “INVESTIGATING” FOR TWO MONTHS AND CANNOT GIVE THIS WOMAN A SINGLE ANSWER? AND TO THOSE WHO CAUSED THIS MOTHER’S PAIN, WELL THAT WILL BE BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR CONSCIENCE IF YOU HAVE ONE. I WAS NOT ON THAT BOAT, BUT I AM ABSOLUTELY SURE OF THIS: GOD WAS THERE AND HE SAW IT ALL.
is the “caps” button stuck?
“god was there”, did you see god there.
was he blind and deaf to see the injustice and let it happen.
What else you people expect? The government does not care and the people care less. If the people in Guyana cared about this little boy, their own children, or their own lives then they would’ve mounted a huge search party and looked for this boy. Then, they would have let the government know exactly how they feel. Instead, they shove their heads in the sand and pray for a visa to run to Canada or the US. Watch and see how many people will pack kitty market square come election time. It don’t matter if a brown man rules the country like a rum shop, as long as a brown man rules…that’s all that matters.
THE POLICE HAVE THE TIME TO PULL THE CART MEN SELLING CD’S INTO BRICKDAM POLICE STATION FOR INTERROGATION. RICKY DESERVES MOST OF THEIR ATTENTION AND LOOK AT WHAT THEY ARE WASTING THEIR TIME ON.
Give the lady the goddam engine.
You already know what happen.
I de ova hay an I know wa happen.
Give the lady the ——- Engine le she go on wid she life.
Soon it gun disappear, an yu wont know we it gaan.
Of course they know what happen, coast guards beat up another person at parika a few days ago.
This is such a disgrace its not funny.
I totaly agree with you expletive and all.The engine has probably disappeared already.
It so sad that this lad is still missing and the authorities don’t have a clue where he is, i’ve stated in previous blog that he may have been abducted and taken out of the country, and gpf should look at neighbouring countries, but no one seems to want to think outside of the box, so this case will remain unsolved.
Are you suggesting human trafficking in this case!!!
yes witch dr, two months ago here in ny one of our dailies carried a report on missing children and it stated that children who are claimed missing are subjected to human trafficking and are used as prostitutes, slaves and laborers in other parts of the world.
What is the most frustrating thing about this case?
Neither the Minister of HA nor his Police Commissioner would appear at a media conference to explain the status of the case.
A month ago Crime Chief Seelall Persaud announced that samples of paint (blue paint found on Coast Guard vessel and green paint from the Hogg Island boat) were sent to the crime lab for testing to see if they match the green paint of the CG vessel and the blue paint of the Hogg Island boat.
It seems we would never hear again from the Crime Chief.(And, you can forget about the Minister and the Police Commissioner)
The CID of Guyana operates as if we are living in the 18th or 19th century. How did this country retrogress two centuries backwards?
You are the best person to answer that question since you were here two centuries ago…Did the police Commissioner said there is an investigation going on??? What more do you want??? You expect the Commisiioner to run his mouth like you…
The Commissioner always hallers there is an investigation going on. We must not and should not accept this farce of an answer it is akin to when the PPP says we are working on it.
Folks this is what the dictatorship does to us, these are the answers they give us, it is completely unacceptable. Yes we should ask for more.
The police should be meeting regularly with the mother and wives of these people who have lost their lives. They need to stop the DENY DISMISS and DELAY mode they have been in from day one.
Enough is enough. The PPP is the PNC using all the tools of the PNC to oppress us and give us Bullcrap answers. These answers are not acceptable. This is not why we voted for the rotten stinkin PPP. Time for change. Time to say no more of your ridiculous answers and shameless behaviour PPP, it is time for you to go.
Third term for Mr. Jagdeo ! no way , Mr. Commander-in-chief , who is in charge of the Coast Guard , when are you going to find these culprits who murdered these men and took away his child , two months and no answer . Hay Dr. Randy Persaud , now you in Gy can you go down there and assist this poor woman to find her son, and advise Mr. Commander- in – Chief how to have a proper running Coast Guard.
Thank you Stabroek News for ensuring this story remains in the hearts and minds of your readers.
Folks, please let us help in whatever way we can. There is a fund for contributions – at least let us try to help Aunty Sano (Salimoon Rahaman) buy another boat engine!
The details of the fund are as follows:
For contributions in Canadian Funds:
SWIFT CODE: TDOMCATTTOR
INSTITUTION NUMBER: 004
BRANCH NUMBER: 05752
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 84256348962
BANK ADDRESS: 801 O’OCONNOR DRIVE, EAST YORK,ONTARIO,M4B-2S7
For contributions in US Funds:
SWIFT CODE: TDOMCATTTOR
INSTITUTION NUMBER: 004
BANK OF AMERICA US FUNDS
SWIFT CODE: BOFAUS3NXXX
FEDWIRE: ABA O26009593
BRANCH NUMBER: 05752
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 84256348962
BANK ADDRESS: 801 O’OCONNOR DRIVE, EAST YORK, ONTARIO, M4B 2S7
For further information please contact little Ricky’s cousin, Narishma Basdeo – nbbrowneyzs539@gmail.com
Good job Gerhard,,,this is how things should be done, not critisizing and condemning,,,If the AFC is trying to help then give the money to the lady and not suggest to buy another boat and engine, she may not want anything to do with boat and engine again…
Thank you Soldier. I agree with you on all points. And indeed the choice of what to do should be Aunty Sano’s. Please copy the details of the fund and pass it on.
I further urge everyone that reads this to please pass on the details of the fund.
Thought of the Day
“The power of accurate observation
is commonly called cynicism
by those who have not got it.”
~ George Bernard Shaw
THIS IS A VERY SAD STORY FOR MY SELF AND THE MY FAMILY IN THE FINDINGS OF MY 10 YEAR OLD COUSIN. ITS PAIN FULL FOR MANY SLEEPLESS NIGHTS. WONDERING WHERE IS LITTLE RICKY.
IT’S SAD TO SIT BACK AND WATCH THE AUTHORITIES DO NOTHING FOR THIS FAMILY. I CAN JUST IMAGINE WHAT MY AUNT IS GOING THROUGH.MY HEART GOES OUT TO HER.
WHAT A LIFE FOR MOST OF THE CITIZEN OF GUYANA WHEN ONE OF THE FAMILY MEMBER IS TAKEN FROM THEM BY MURDER THE AUTHORITIES SEEMS TO DO VERY LITTLE TO FIND THE KILLER.
GUYANA IS VERY BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN POWER IS NOT THE RIGHT ONES. WE NEED SOMEONE THAT HAVE A HEART FOR THE POOR .
well said selena, guyana is indeed a very beautiful country, the people who guyanese put to run guyana are trully not working for the interest of guyanese, i totally agree with you, only us guyanese have the power to remove the people from govt, who dont have the guyanese people at heart at, vote them out of office come next elections.
Sorry Selena ppp is about money and power she is not connected so no attension is given in this case this is not dr Jagan ppp indians will also suffer like anyone else