Co-worker released on bail, others being questioned -as probe into Bartica gold miner’s murder continues
Following questioning by police, a co-worker of gold miner Abraham Mohammed Khan, who was found buried in a shallow grave at Bartica after a reported robbery, has been released on station bail.
The man, who had accompanied Khan to transport raw gold for their employer, had claimed that they were attacked after leaving their mining camp.
Commander of ‘F’ Division Ravindradat Budhram confirmed the man’s release on Monday afternoon. Additionally, several other individuals were being questioned by ranks of the Guyana Police Force’s Major Crimes Unit in connection to the crime.
Stabroek News was also told that an ATV that was reported to have been stolen from Khan during the robbery was recovered several miles from Bartica.
The body of Khan, 24, of Third Avenue, Bartica, was on Wednesday morning found buried in the shallow grave along the 16 Miles Road, at Bartica.
Police officials were informed by the co-worker, a foreman at the camp where Khan worked, that they were attacked around 6 pm last Tuesday.
Khan’s brother, Amit Williams, had told Stabroek News that while the circumstances surrounding his brother’s death remained sketchy, he was informed by the foreman that they were attacked shortly after they left the mining camp.
“He told me that as they were going along the road, there was a tree across, so they had to slow down to pass, when three … men came out and started to fire shots and he get away in the bushes,” Williams related.
He said based on what he was told by the foreman, a bullet grazed Khan’s neck and he was badly beaten before being relieved of the raw gold and the ATV.
“He [the foreman] also told me that after he ran in the bushes, he got lost and end up seeing some people who took him to the police station,” Williams said, while noting that afterward the police visited the scene where they discovered Khan’s body on Wednesday morning.
A post-mortem examination on Friday revealed that Khan died from a gunshot injury to the spine.