Three remanded over murder of Canadian citizen
The prime accused, an alleged accomplice, as well as the suspected mastermind, who were held over the disappearance and murder of Canada citizen, Nicholas Ramkissoon Jaipaul, were yesterday remanded to prison after they were charged jointly with murder.
Charran Sewdhan also known as ‘ Vickey’, 26; Aszim Shivgobin also known as ‘Blackie’, 23; and Moonasar Beharry, also known as ‘ Brick head’, 56, of Lot 125 Section ‘A’, Number 70 Village, Corentyne; yester-day appeared at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.
Magistrate Alex Moore, who presides at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court, read the joint charge to the men via Zoom, which alleges that they murdered Jaipaul, 23, at Moleson Creek, Upper Corentyne.
The three accused were not required to enter a plea.
Their next appearance at the Springlands Magistrate’s Court is scheduled for September 24.
Jaipaul, 23, arrived in Guyana back in January with his grandfather, Ramkissoon Jaipaul, 86. The duo were residing at the grandfather’s house in Number 69 Village, Corentyne, and were expected to leave the country in May but were forced to remain after flight restrictions were issued due to COVID-19.
His grandfather had said that he left the man awake and went to bed on Sunday, August, 16, around 7.30 pm.
However, the next morning he received a strange call asking if he was aware that his grandson was not in the house, which led him to file a police report.
He noted that he was never asked for any ransom but he had suspected that that was the reason behind the call.
Last Thursday, the suspected remains of Jaipaul were discovered in some bushes along the Moleson Creek main access road, after Sewdhan allegedly confessed to the crime and led investigators to the location.
Police received a statement from Sewdhan alleging that he was hired to kidnap Jaipaul and kill him, then call his grandfather for a ransom of $50 million.
He also told investigators that he was ordered to also kill the grandfather when he showed up with the ransom and that he would be paid $500,000.
Furthermore, Sewdhan had alleged that the plan was hatched by another after Jaipaul’s grandfather had taken a group of farmers to court over unpaid rents for rice lands.
Stabroek News was told that Jaipaul’s grandfather once owned a rice mill which he sold many years ago and then started to rent his rice lands to farmers in the community.
However, after several of the rice farmers failed to pay their rents over a period of time, the man filed court action against them.
A senior police source had told this newspaper that Sewdhan befriended the deceased and on the night in question he messaged Jaipaul to meet him outside, hence there was no evidence of forced entry into the house.
According to the source, Sewdhan and Shivgobin, who he recruited as his accomplice, were waiting for Jaipaul in a car outside.
Stabroek News was also told that police also have in their possession, a statement from Shivgobin detailing the plan to commit murder.