Maxwell Hardat Singh, 47, of Lot 9, Zeeburg, West Coast Demerara, was pronounced dead on arrival at the West Demerara Regional Hospital, where he had been taken by the police. In a press release yesterday, the police said the circumstances of the shooting are under investigation.
The shooting occurred at 9pm. According to police, Singh went home under the influence of alcohol and began discharging rounds into the air from his licensed pistol while outside in the yard. His daughter spoke to him and he then proceeded into the home where “he is reported to have shot himself in the head.”
The police’s version of efforts differed from the recounts of Singh’s daughter Vallery, who was with him at the time of the incident. Trying to control her emotions, she recounted that her father came home from the Mazaruni area where he operated his dredge around midday on Monday. Because of his unkempt condition, he visited a barber shop and subsequently had a couple of beers before returning home.
The young woman told Stabroek News that he returned home around 2:30pm but left shortly after, saying that he was going to have some drinks with his friends and would return to eat. Singh returned around 9 pm and according to Vallery he was a “bit tipsy.” “When he came home he took out his money, his license and the revolver to give me to put up but then he noticed like the gun wasn’t closing well,” she recalled, adding that her father who was standing in the yard pointed the gun at the nearby concrete fence and cranked the weapon. Three shots were subsequently discharged at the fence but still her father said it wasn’t fixed right. He then turned to her and said “Val do you want to see something” before placing the gun to his head and pulling the trigger.
Vallery said from all appearances her father died before he collapsed on the ground and she immediately ran out into the street screaming for help. “Everybody hear me but no body didn’t come out,” she said sadly. The police were later contacted and the ranks who arrived took the man to the hospital but he was already dead. According to Vallery, the entire episode occurred in the yard.
A bad temper
Vallery recalled that some time back, police confiscated the weapon from the man but subsequently returned it. She could not say what prompted this police action or when exactly it occurred. She said that during a four year period, he would put the gun to his head but his wife, Vidya would always take it away from him. Responding to questions from this newspaper, she said that he never pulled the trigger or say that he wanted to kill himself. “We does always take the gun away from he. I didn’t expect him to do this (pull the trigger),” she said, adding that he had returned home after six months away.
She said that she believes that the sudden changes in her father’s behaviour were warning signs that he was going to end his life. According to her, he started saying things that were out of character and even told her to give a pair of sneakers to a brother he doesn’t even speak to.
When Singh came home, he talked about taking the family to Kaieteur Falls for a visit. The young woman said that her father even convinced her mother to stay at the dredge. The woman returned home yesterday morning to the tragic news. She had called earlier that morning to speak with her husband but Vallery told her that he was still asleep.
Vallery said she feels her father didn’t expect the gun to go off because of the problems it had been giving and that the alcohol was a contributing factor to the incident. “We are always a happy family. He was not a bad man,” she said.
When this newspaper arrived at the home, many persons had already gathered and Vidya was being comforted by relatives. She was inconsolable.
Relatives and friends said that they were unaware of any problem that Singh had that could have prompted him to kill himself. A post-mortem examination will be done today and the man’s remains will subsequently be cremated.
