The bullet-riddled body of
40-year-old Deonarine
Prahalad who
was kidnapped by armed pirates
on Wednesday at Parika was
yesterday dug up by relatives
from a shallow grave on the
Essequibo Coast.
The body which had begun to
decompose bore several gunshot
wounds including one which
passed through the man's
stomach, a relative told this
newspaper. Prahalad,
Charoma Harka and a Venezuelan
known as 'Green-eye' were on
Wednesday hijacked by gunmen
who seized their passenger
boat at the Two Brothers Wharf
at Parika. The men had just
purchased gas and were about
to leave the service station
when the bandits brandishing
high-powered rifles pulled up
in a small fishing boat. They
discharged several round
indiscriminately and even
pointed their weapons in the
faces of fishermen at the
wharf. They then seized the
men's boat and sailed off to
Leguan where they dumped Harka
and the Venezuelan but sailed
away with Prahalad, later
killing him.
Speaking to Stabroek News
yesterday, one of Prahalad's
brothers said that from all
indications he was killed the
very day he was held by the
five men. Prahalad had
received a single gunshot at
Parika, while Harka, who was
the captain of the vessel,
sustained two and the
Venezuelan, a graze on his
shoulder. Following a search
on Thursday during which time
the hijacked boat along with
its two engines were
recovered, relatives of the
dead man returned to the area
yesterday morning. Prahalad's
brother told this newspaper
that they thoroughly scoured
the area where the boat was
found, tramping through thick
bushes. He said around 12:30
pm they went around the other
side of Hamburg Island and
observed a part of the beach
which appeared to have been
recently disturbed. Members of
the search party began digging
until they found a blue
tarpaulin which shrouded the
man's partly decomposed body.
Police at the Suddie Police
Station were informed about
the discovery and later
visited the scene. The body
was then transported to Parika
before being escorted to Lyken
Funeral Parlour where it is
awaiting a post-mortem
examination.
Asked about the bandits,
the dead man's brother said an
eyewitness reportedly
identified one of them as
being a resident of Essequibo
who was involved in a
bank
robbery
there
several years ago. The
suspect's house is located
near where the boat was found.
According to the brother the
suspect was seen at the Parika
stelling about two hours
before the attack. Stabroek
News was told that prior to
the raid on the boat at Parika,
which occurred around 11:30
am, the bandits were seen in
their boat at the stelling
covered with tarpaulins.
According to the brother, the
eyewitness said he was
prepared to pass on the
information to the police.
Three men hijacked the boat
at Parika and two others
joined them when it reached
Leguan. The hijackers wore
hooked cloaks with
handkerchiefs tied across
their faces. Stabroek News was
told that when the boat got to
Leguan the bandits disembarked
their vessel took off its
engine and escaped with the
men's boat. Prahalad's brother
said they had seen the
bandits' boat during their
search on Wednesday drifting
along the river. In addition,
the brother disclosed that a
fisherman reported that he
heard more gunshots as the
boat sailed past Wakenaam
Island and he believes that it
was during this that Prahalad
was killed.
He felt that his brother
was killed because he would
have known one of the
suspects, the said one the
eyewitness identified.
According to the brother, the
Venezuelan had a quantity of
US currency on the vessel and
this he believes was the main
target for the bandits.
Stabroek News was told that
the Venezuelan had hired the
boat to take him to Port
Kaituma in the North West
District. The brother said it
was clear that the bandits'
motive
was to steal the money the
Venezuelan had but they needed
to kill Prahalad because he
knew them.
"Why they carried him
away and shoot him, they
coulda kill the Venezuelan or
the captain, but they know he
(Prahalad) know them,"
the brother declared.
A number of items were
found at the beach where the
boat was abandoned. Members of
the search party observed that
the place was deserted and
from all appearances only the
bandits would have been going
there. Equipment for
binoculars, four drums, two
buckets, one pair of boots and
a hand bag along with drink
bottles were found on the
beach. Reports are that the
hijackers are known pirates
who are also involved in fuel
and drug smuggling at the
Parika Port. They are said to
be operating near the
Venezuela border and might
have had good knowledge of
their victims.
