Duo charged with taxi-driver murder

-burnt body still to be positively identified

Two East Bank Demerara residents were yesterday charged with the murder of taxi driver Bomeshwar Sukhdeo, although there has been no positive identification of the badly burnt corpse discovered in Mocha last week.

Bharrat Narine

Balram Singh, a taxi driver of Agricola, and Bharrat Narine, a taxi service owner of 303 Grove Housing Scheme, were not required to plead when the capital offence was read to them at the Providence Magistrates’ Court.

Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry explained to the two accused that they were before the court for the murder of Sukhdeo but were not required to plead at that time.

It is alleged that between January 19 and 27, Singh and Narine murdered the deceased at Mocha, East Bank Demerara. Singh and Narine, handcuffed together, stood side by side in the packed courtroom. There were additional police ranks present. As the magistrate read the particulars of the charge to the men, Narine was visibly upset. His eyes were swollen and red. He shook his head as if in denial as Magistrate Sewnarine-Beharry read. Narine’s co-accused, Singh, was noticeably more composed. Before the charge was read he sat in the courtroom dock smiling.

Neither of the murder accused was represented by an attorney. The magistrate subsequently remanded them to prison. The matter continues on March 15.

Balram Singh

Following Sukhdeo’s disappearance police, according to their prosecutor, discovered his missing car in Herstelling. Singh, the police prosecutor further said, was arrested after the discovery of Sukhdeo’s missing car. It was Singh who later confessed, the prosecutor told the court, and he implicated the number two accused, Narine.

Hours after Sukhdeo’s car was located, police found the burnt corpse suspected to be his. It was following the discovery of the body at Mocha that Singh and Narine were arrested.

They were among four persons in police custody assisting with investigations into the suspected murder of Sukhdeo.

Sukhdeo disappeared two Tuesdays ago.

After the burnt body was found at Mocha, police had spent several hours combing the bushy area for clues. Government pathologist Nehaul Singh, who examined the body, had said that based on the presence of maggots, it could not have been there for more than a day.

He had said too that due to the state of the body, he could not determine how the man died. But based on his assessments, he conclude that the body was that of an East Indian male, not more that 25 years of age and based on measurements was five feet ten inches tall. This description almost matches that of Sukhdeo.

Sukhdeo’s relatives have since said that they believe the burnt corpse belongs to him.

However, samples have been taken from the corpse for DNA testing to confirm this belief. It is not clear whether the samples were sent or when the results are expected.