A 48-year-old labourer was beaten to death on Tuesday evening at Cane Grove, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara allegedly by his neighbours who have since been arrested.
Dead is Gopaul Seeram also known as `Eyelash’ and `Kumar’ of Long Dam, Cane Grove, Mahaica, ECD.
Seeram was beaten about his body including his head during the incident which took place sometime between 6 pm and 9 pm on Tuesday.
He was taken to the Mahaicony Hospital and was later transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) where he succumbed while receiving medical attention.
An autopsy yesterday showed that Seeram died as a result of multiple injuries due to blunt trauma.
The suspects: Seeram’s neighbour and his reputed wife were arrested yesterday morning and are presently in police custody assisting with investigations.
Reports are that the female suspect does not live with her reputed husband who is Seeram’s neighbour. According to information obtained, the woman resides at Helena, Mahaica but would frequent her reputed husband’s home.
The police in a press statement yesterday said that enquiries revealed that the female suspect would usually called Seeram’s wife, Shakeela Kishore to enquire if the suspect was at home before going to his place.
On Tuesday, the police said that the female suspect called Kishore who reportedly ended the call without responding. “The female suspect, later went to the deceased’s (Seeram’s) home, confronted his spouse (Kishore) and they had an exchange of words which led to the intervention of their husbands (Seeram and the male suspect),” the police explained.
During the process, the police said the suspects allegedly armed themselves with two pieces of wood which they used to beat Seeram.
When Stabroek News visited the scene yesterday, the homes of the suspect and Seeram had been tightly secured.
Following the incident, Kishore has been staying at her mother-in-law’s place where preparations were being made up to late yesterday afternoon for Seeram’s wake.
Kishore detailed the events leading up to her husband’s death to Stabroek News.
She explained that the female suspect telephoned her on Tuesday morning and she answered the phone but subsequently ended the call after she realised it was the neighbour’s reputed wife.
“When she (female suspect) call now I ask she ‘is who?’ After she ask me wah me ah do, me seh this is who? She seh this is Shivo. After me hear she, I cut off the phone because me husband seh he nah want problem with she,” Kishore recalled.
According to Kishore the woman would call her on a regular basis to enquire about her husband’s whereabouts. “….Normally she does call find out about weh she husband deh. If she call now and me tell she, she husband ah drink, she come in and start quarrel that how people ah tell she he ah drink rum. So me husband seh, he nah want problem,” Kishore said.
Kishore further explained that hours after the call, the female suspect arrived at her husband’s house and complained to him that she had called Kishore who “cut off” the phone on her.
“…She seh that how them think me want them man…Me nah answer she, me lef she. And she deh cuss, cuss and we deh inside….me husband ah hear she. When he come out now, he tell the husband (male suspect) how yuh wife ah come and cuss people ah back hay…she cuss me husband, meh husband cuss she and she run go station,” Kishore said.
She related that the female suspect went to the police station to lodge a report and returned with the police. “…She go station and she bring the police….The police tell we leh we nah tell she nothing and if she tell we anything, leh we nah answer she,” Kishore noted.
According to Kishore, the suspects them started to imbibe alcohol at their home.
“When it reach 6 o’clock now them start cuss we again. She and she husband and after them start drink and start cuss we, me husband jump up because he (male suspect) start cuss up meh husband….and me husband tell am seh who he think he ah talk to that how them two nah got one problem, wah he ah cuss am fah,” Kishore explained.
She further related that the male suspect rushed over to their place in a fit of rage. “The boy (male suspect) run over by we and hold me husband by he shirt and start chuck am up and pull he over he place. And when them pull he now, them tek one wood, he and he wife and them lash he pun he foot. When them lash he pun he foot, he fall down. When he fall down, he can’t get up. He seh ‘ow, ow’ and the man and he wife start beat he. All ova he skin. He can’t get up. He husband ah try fah get up and he can’t get up,” Kishore related.
She said in fear for her life, she ran out to the dam. “But me nah expect ah so them go beat me husband bad,” she said.
Kishore added that after the suspect realised that her husband wasn’t getting up, he advanced towards her and hit her on her hand. “When them done now, after the boy (male suspect) see seh me husband nah get up he cross ova the bridge with the same wood wah he been ah beat me husband with and he come and he geh me one lash ah me hand,” Kishore said.
She said she managed to escape after which the suspects fled the scene.
An alarm was raised and the police were summoned.
Kishore and Seeram shared a 2-year-old child together. She said Seeram was the sole breadwinner of the house.
