Police arrested a fifth person on Wednesday in connection with the murder of the overseas Guyanese Hemraj Pardesi named Prem ‘. ”This suspect confessed not to kill Pardesi but rather to rob him of a large amount of cash in his possession.
A police source close to the investigation revealed that the suspect had involved two other people, including a woman with whom the victim was allegedly connected.
According to the source, the suspect announced that Pardesi was in his garden when they pounced on him and a scuffle ensued. The victim was whipped in the head with a steel rod and a hose taped around his neck and mouth. Then they grabbed the keys he had in his possession to get into the upper apartment of the building. The suspect said they ransacked the building for the cash and that his accomplice escaped with a bag while he escaped empty-handed.
The suspect was found by police hiding underwater with his nose overwater in Canje Creek. He was then arrested and taken into custody, where he confesses hours later.
According to a police report, the suspect caught in the creek was jailed in 2019 for robbing a Chinese supermarket but was released from prison in February 2021.
The police continue the hunt for the man and the woman; the woman is said to have lured the victim out of his courtyard for a short time, which allowed the perpetrators to gain access.
Police found Pardesi’s body on Tuesday between 11:30 p.m. and 11:45 p.m. at the foot of his outside staircase that leads to the upper apartment of his two-story concrete and wooden property. He had returned to Guyana a few weeks ago and was doing some renovation work on the property. Pardesi, accompanied by a friend, visited a commercial bank on Tuesday and withdrew a large amount of cash, a transaction known to the man’s lover, police said.
After returning to the Reliance property, the person reportedly left the property around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday and shortly after the suspects entered the courtyard and confronted Pardesi.
Police said in a statement that Pardesi was last seen alive and well by his nephew in the company of another man on that date. His body was found lying face down, blood flowing from his nose, and duck tape wrapped around his neck. Traces of what appeared to be blood were seen on the stairs leading to the upper apartment and the entire upper apartment of the building was ransacked. There were no signs of forced entry.
Pardesi’s body is currently in the Arokium Funeral Home awaiting a PME.
