A man accused of driving the getaway car used in the $60M robbery of an Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara businessman was remanded to prison when he appeared at the Leonora Magistrate’s court yesterday and the matter was transferred to the Chief Magistrate for re-assignment.
Magistrate Fazil Azeez made the decision to send the matter to the Chief Magistrate’s Court after the defendant, who said that he was an electrician, stated that he had done some electrical work for the magistrate and he (the magistrate) knew him.
Avinash Ghakra Bhandu Rampertab, a taxi-driver of Lot 41 Success Village, East Coast Demerara was not required to plead to the indictable charge of robbery under arms and was remanded to prison by the magistrate. It is alleged that on December 11 at Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara, the accused, being together with others and armed with dangerous weapons, to wit guns, robbed Basdeo Sahadar of $5.7M and 355 ounces of raw gold valued at $55M with a total value of $60.7M, property of the said Basdeo Sahadar.
Reports are that shortly before 7 pm on the said date; a gang of armed men invaded the Anna Catherina home of Sahadar and as he attempted to run away, shot him in the left hip. Holding his son, Davendra at gunpoint, they ransacked the home and discovered the items. Firing shots in the air, the bandits escaped in a waiting car after residents began blocking the road. Police had said that it is suspected that the bandits escaped by boat along the Atlantic Ocean. A suspect was arrested the next day and the car suspected to have been used by the bandits was recovered in the city. Further, last Thursday, acting on information received, the police arrested Rampertab in Kitty. Police in a press release had said that $1.8M had been recovered from his hotel room. Following investigations, he was charged for the offence.
When the matter was called at court yesterday, Rampertab stood impassively as the charge was read to him. He stated that the men had hijacked his car and forced him to go with them. He pleaded to be freed on bail stating that “I is an electrician and I got a lot of jobs on the road”. He then told the magistrate “sir you suppose to know me” and said that he did some electrical work for the magistrate. As he recalled this, Magistrate Azeez remembered him and he then informed Rampertab that because he wanted to ensure that he received a fair trial, he would send the matter to the Chief Magistrate for re-assignment. The magistrate then remanded him.
Rampertab will return to court on January 21 next year at Court One.
