Relatives of Rajmohan “Vishnu” Phaskanran, 47, a fisherman of Lot 46 Section C Number 79 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, who was brutally chopped in the wee hours of December 18, 2012 are seeking justice over his killing.
Phaskanran, who was attacked a block away from his home, allegedly by a bar owner and two others, succumbed on December 26 in the Intensive Care Unit at the Georgetown Public Hospital. The father of four was laid to rest on Sunday last.
Stabroek News understands that the owner of Crimson Light, a strip club at Number 79 Village and another man have been remanded over the incident. In addition, a third man said to be involved in the incident is currently on the run.
The dead man’s son was an eyewitness. Satesh, 22, a tractor operator at the Skeldon Sugar Factory said that around 03:00 hrs on December 18 he had just returned home from work and was taking off his boots when his father, who had also just come in, told him that he had been robbed.
As the conversation continued, the son said, he saw three men and a girl approach their residence and heard them say, “Watch de man deh hay! Watch the man deh hay!”
He said the men jumped over the fence and two of them rushed to his father who tried to enter the house; the door was locked. Satesh said he watched from the veranda as the two men started to beat his father with a piece of wood and a cutlass. He said he started to shout for the neighbours and one of the men asked him if he “want some [blows] too”.
The man’s son said he ran off and the men left his father, who appeared to be unconscious and chased behind him. He said one of the men caught him and began to choke him and hold him down.
“The man also tried to rob me while holding me down,” he said. He said the other man dealt him a broadside with the cutlass.
The elder Phaskanran regained consciousness and saw that the men had gone after his son and he ran behind them. They turned on him and chopped him in an alley, a block away from his home.
Stabroek News understands that the man bled profusely and was rushed to the Skeldon Public Hospital, later transferred to New Amsterdam Hospital and Georgetown Public Hospital.
This publication was told that the incident was as a result of a robbery.
According to reports, the deceased went to the bar for a few drinks and was robbed.
He went home, but returned and asked for his wallet which had his identification cards and other important documents. An argument ensued, which led to the tragedy.
Residents yesterday called on the relevant authorities to look into the closure of the bar, claiming that many persons are robbed there while young girls are forced into prostitution.
The club is known for its striptease dancing. Residents said the business place first opened as a restaurant, it then was changed to a drug store before it became a strip club.
Phaskanran leaves to mourn his four children, who lost their mother in April 2012, his father, brothers and sisters along with relatives and friends.
Police investigations are continuing into the matter.
