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Daring
daylight robbery at Great Diamond Scheme...
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A re-migrant is contemplating returning to the United
States after bandits beat his 25-year-old wife and tied her to a grill
door during a daring daylight robbery yesterday at the couple's Great Diamond,
East Bank Demerara home.
The bandits, who were armed with a handgun and a knife, escaped with a
substantial sum of cash and jewellery at around 09:30 hrs yesterday, after
beating the re-migrant's wife and threatening to kill her one-year-old son.
The woman and her son were home alone when the bandits struck at their
Thirteen Street , Great Diamond home.
Ganga Persaud, who returned to Guyana a few months ago, said that he was doing
construction work at another house a few blocks away when the attack occurred.
According to reports, the woman and her two-year-old son were inside when two
young men, who had a handgun and a knife, entered via the opened back door.
The bandits reportedly struck Persaud's wife to the ground while asking her
for “the money and the gold.”
Persaud's wife, who declined to be identified by name, said that the men
gagged and tied her to the grill door at the back steps.
According to the woman, they also tied her infant son by his legs to grillwork
at a front window and then proceeded to ransack the house.
When they did not immediately find anything of value, the men reportedly told
Persaud's wife that they would hang her son if she didn't tell them where the
family's valuables were hidden.
The woman then directed then bandits to a wardrobe, where her husband had
stashed a large quantity of cash and jewellery.
The men reportedly fled immediately after locating the family's valuables.
After the bandits left, her little son managed to unloosen his legs and remove
the gag from his mother's mouth.
A female fish vendor, who was coming to visit the home, entered the premises
after hearing screams.
But the re-migrant's wife said that the vendor fled after seeing her tied to
the grill.
Persaud said that he only realised that something was amiss when the same
vendor ran to the house where he was working and informed him about the
robbery.
He immediately ran to his home, cut his wife loose with a kitchen knife and
then drove to the Grove Police Station to report the robbery.
The re-migrant said that he now has second thoughts about remaining in Guyana
.
“We feel threatened; we want to leave right now,” he told Kaieteur News.
According to Persaud, who moved to Great Diamond about three months ago,
residents are at the mercy of criminals, since there are no streetlights or
telephones in the area.
• Residents said that there have been several recent robberies in the
community.
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Bollywood confronts HIV/AIDS …
Special screening of Phir
Milenge at Strand Cinema
The first motion picture out of India dealing with HIV/AIDS premiered in
Guyana yesterday under the patronage of the Ministry of Health.
A special screening of Phir Milenge, starring Salman
Khan, Shilpa Shetty and Abhishek Bachchan was done at the Strand Cinema.
Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy,
representatives from a number of organisations involved in the battle against
the pandemic and members of the media, attended the special showing.
The film has been praised around the world for its attempt to combat
ignorance, fear, stigma and discrimination surrounding HIV/AIDS and has been
entered into the Cannes Films Festival, a rarity for Indian films.
Executive Director of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Peter Piot,
has endorsed the film stating, “It is extremely significant that Bollywood
is joining the struggle against the epidemic and helping to break the silence
that surrounds HIV and AIDS. We applaud the making of this film.”
Minister Ramsammy lauded the initiative of the distributor of the film, Anand
Persaud, in bringing it to Guyana in an effort to fight the stigma and
discrimination locally, which he said is the greatest deterrent to making
headway in fighting the disease.
“Stigma and discrimination is the greatest problem we have to getting a
breakthrough in this disease. In certain aspects it is even greater than the
disease itself because while AIDS affects individuals, stigma affects entire
societies at a time,” he said.
He noted that the film is an indication that everyone, of all ethnic groups
and religions are getting involved in the battle to alleviate stigma and
discrimination attached to the virus.
The Minister acknowledged that education and awareness programmes alone will
not be enough to stop the stigma and said, towards this end, government will
be reinforcing policy documents through legislation before the end of the
parliamentary sessions next August.
Phir Milenge opens to members of the public under the patronage of the Health
Ministry on Sunday with three showings.
PAHO and UNICEF will sponsor matinee shows for school children on Monday and
Tuesday respectively. .
Minister Ramsammy said he will be working with Persaud to have the film move
to the television screens all across the country and urges everyone to see it.
Friday, October 08, 2004
Bandit shot by businessman
in botched robbery
A bandit and an East Coast Demerara businessman are both nursing gunshot
wounds at two separate city hospitals following a brazen robbery around 14:00
hrs on Sheriff Street, yesterday.
The businessman, Deonarine Persaud of Wash Clothes, Mahaicony, who was the
victim of the robbery, was shot three times in the foot. The bandit, who hails
from Princes Street , Lodge is listed as critical. He was shot in the head and
chest when the businessman returned fire from his licence firearm, while his
accomplice managed to escape on a motorcycle.
The men had reportedly traced the businessman from a city bank and pounced on
him as he was about to enter his truck, which was parked on Sheriff Street .
A statement from the police said that Persaud was walking along Sheriff Street
when he was confronted by two men, who rode up on a motorcycle and demanded
money.
An eyewitness to the incident told this newspaper that Persaud had just exited
a taxi when one of the bandits who was the pillion rider approached him and
started firing several shots at his feet while demanding money.
According to the eyewitness, the businessman handed over $100,000 which he had
in his pocket to the bandit who demanded more.
“De man had a bag which he throw in a trench and de bandit shot he again in
he foot. De man fall down and de bandit hand he partner de money. He ride
away, leffing de other one behind,” the eyewitness said.
By then a number of persons, including the businessman's porter began
converging on the scene.
By this time, the businessman had pulled out his firearm and started to shoot
at the bandit. A few rounds hit him and he fell to the ground. According to
the eyewitness, the bandit appeared to have exhausted all the rounds from his
firearm, giving those around the courage to attack him.
“A man go up to he with a piece ah wood and he point he gun at he, but he
didn't gat no more bullets and de man lash he in he head with de wood,” the
eyewitness told this newspaper.
The bandit tried to hold on to the businessman's truck but collapsed after
receiving the lash.
“A set ah people start fuh come around and some men help de businessman fuh
go to de hospital. Dey call a ambulance fuh carry de bandit to de hospital,”
the eyewitness said.
Kaieteur News understands that a man, who identified himself as a policeman,
was on the scene and relieved the bandit of his .32 revolver.
The bandit underwent emergency surgery at the Georgetown hospital yesterday
afternoon.
Police are on the hunt for the other bandit, who fled the scene.
Saturday, October 9, 2004
. He does not have a clue of how to deal with the state of lawlessness in Guyana; he gives in, it seems, to every demand made of him by the opposition PNC Leader; he devalues democracy - all of this in his rush to please the Opposition Party.
I and many other Guyanese feel Jagdeo should be called upon to resign...yes resign and have another member of the Cabinet take over the Presidency.
Taij Seetaram