Recaptured prison escapee being questioned over Corentyne businessman’s murder

A recaptured prison escapee is being questioned about his possible involvement in the fatal attack on Corentyne businessman Patrick Mohabir, who was shot and chopped during a home invasion on Wednesday night.

Neshan Jagmohan, who is a prisoner on remand on a charge of murder, had escaped from the New Amsterdam Prison on December 28, 2015. Police said ranks acting on information received went to an abandoned lot at Rose Hall, Corentyne, around 8.45pm on Thursday night and captured Jagmohan.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum told Stabroek News that since Jagmohan’s arrest, investigators have been questioning him to see if there is any link between him and the murder of Mohabir.

Patrick Mohabir
Patrick Mohabir

He is currently accused of the murder of Deodat Persaud, a Belvedere businessman who was shot and killed in 2013.

Mohabir, 42, also of Belvedere Village, Corentyne, Berbice, died of injuries he sustained during a scuffle with one of the two men who attacked him and his wife.

 Neshan Jagmohan
Neshan Jagmohan

Last evening, relatives told Stabroek News via telephone that they haven’t been informed of any developments by lawmen and that it was unclear if anyone was taken into custody.

Asked whether the family had any indication that Jagmohan might have been involved in Mohabir’s death, family members responded in the negative. A relative said they only learnt that Jagmohan might have been involved in the murder from an article that appeared yesterday in the Kaieteur News.

According to a police statement, the attack on Mohabir and his wife, Shabina Ahmad, occurred around 11.30pm, when the two men, armed with a firearm and cutlass, entered their home and held them up. During the attack, police added, Mohabir put up resistance and was shot and chopped by the perpetrators, who escaped with two cell phones and a pair of shoes.

Mohabir was subsequently taken to the Anamayah Memorial Hospital, where he succumbed while receiving medical attention.

The attack raised suspicions that the men may have went to the house with the intention to kill Mohabir since they had refused valuables that were offered to them.

The relative who spoke to Stabroek News confirmed that Mohabir was charged in 2007 with the murder of a police officer, who was fatally chopped in that same year. However, in 2010 the matter was thrown out in the High Court and Mohabir was freed. She explained that Mohabir was one of several men who were also charged with the murder.

Mohabir is survived by his wife and four children.