Police are seeking a “tall and well-built” man who was the last person seen exiting the Parika Health Centre office of HIV counsellor Seeraj Persaud moments before his lifeless body was found on Monday afternoon.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud, when contacted yesterday for an update, would only say that no one has been held but investigators do have the description of a suspect. Investigations are ongoing.
Divisional Commander Collin West said that the police are working “with all the information that we have”. He noted that they are treating the incident as a murder/robbery.
Persaud, who had been attached to the health facility for the past three years, was found around 1:50 pm crouched on the floor of his office. There was no blood and everything in the room was in order. However his laptop, a cellular phone, his wallet and a bunch of keys were missing. A post-mortem examination later revealed that Persaud died from manual strangulation. Black and blue marks were also visible on the neck. He also sustained blunt trauma during the incident.
Yesterday, sources at the facility explained that staff did see “someone” enter the office but did not pay much attention. Sometime later, a man exited the office telling two women who were sitting outside, “later” and pulling in the door. Because of the nature of the sessions, the door is always kept closed.
This newspaper was told that the women sat outside the door waiting on Persaud to indicate that they could go in. After a while, one of them decided to check. She discovered Persaud on the floor and alerted the staff.
From all indications the suspect that is being sought is not from the area.
A health worker with knowledge of HIV counselling yesterday explained that a person can visit any health centre that is a VCT (voluntary counselling and testing) site. “So for example if you live in Bartica and have some time before you catch a boat, you can visit the Parika Health Centre to access the VCT services,” the health worker explained.
She further explained that at VCT sites, persons are counselled then tested, then counselled again before their status is revealed to them. All of this is done in one session and the amount of time it will last varies depending on the person’s lifestyle and how much s/he knows about HIV. Because of the confidentiality that is involved, no names are recorded but each person is given a code.
