Seven months after Albion resident Surendra Nauth was fatally stabbed by an ex-convict, the police are yet to arrest his alleged killer and his parents who are determined to obtain justice are accusing the police of foot-dragging.
Nauth’s mother, Omadai Nauth, told Stabroek News that she won’t be able to rest until her son’s killer is arrested and placed behind bars, but she is frustrated to the extent that she doesn’t know who or where to turn to.
Since his death, Omadai said, the police have made no progress in the investigation, but they have been “dragging their feet on the matter.”
Nauth, 29, of Albion Front, Corentyne was stabbed after midnight on January 17, this year when he and his brother-in-law, Totaram Bhola, 25, also of Albion Front were attacked by the man who was accused of slashing a tyre on their car at Williamsburg, Corentyne.
“During the argument the man attacked them with a knife and stabbed Nauth to his abdomen and also inflicted a wound to the forehead of Bhola,” the police had said in a statement. They were both admitted to the New Amsterdam Hospital where Nauth later succumbed to his injury.
At that time, the suspect was recently released from prison where he had served a sentence on a charge of wounding.
Omadai explained to this newspaper that the last time she and her husband visited the police station, the ranks informed them that they are not aware of the matter since at that time they were stationed at a different location.
She said apart from this, the police were provided with useful information about the suspect’s whereabouts on several occasions, but they failed to arrest him. “They tell we but next time we see he, let we must call them,” Omadai said. “Why should we call them a next time when we telling them we just see the guy? You ain’t see they ain’t even interested?” she queried rhetorically.
Omadai related that while it was rumored after her son’s death that the suspect lives in the said area, she was recently made to understand that he had fled to Suriname. The mother of the suspect, she said, was held for questioning in relation to the stabbings and released on the expiration of 72 hours.
“I know he by seeing he and I know apart from my son he try to kill nuff more people, and why they would want to not arrest someone like he?” she questioned.
The woman said her family is wary of the way the entire probe is being handled while noting that the police have been constantly pushing them around and are always unable to provide them with answers on the progress of the matter.
Efforts made to contact the police for a comment proved futile.
Surendra’s brother Robindra had related to this newspaper that his brother attended a wedding with his wife. Robindra said he had initially pleaded with Surendra not to attend the wedding but to stay home and drink with him and Bhola but he didn’t. It was not until the two had finished drinking later that evening that Robindra checked his phone and saw two missed calls from his brother.
“I call back and I didn’t get onto him so I wanted to know why he call, cause I tell he call me if anything happen,” Robindra had said. Unable to contact Surendra, he decided to go to the wedding house with Bhola and another friend.
When they arrived at the wedding Surendra was dancing and his wife, who was in the car waiting on him, came inside and related that a man had slashed one of their car tyres.
Robindra said when Surendra went outside, he saw that one of the vehicle’s wheels was punctured and when he questioned his wife about who had done it, she pointed to a man who was standing near the car. “He ask the man like four times if he do it and he kept saying no and after like the fifth time, he start to get on bad and cuss up,” Robindra recalled.
Subsequently, after the man became rowdy, he bent down, pulled an object from the ground and slashed Bhola to his face. Surendra then approached the suspect, who pushed him away before escaping. Robindra said he had tried to run behind the suspect but couldn’t catch up with him.
It was not until he returned to the car that he discovered Surendra lying in the back seat, bleeding profusely with a gaping stab wound to his stomach.
