POLICE investigating the Sunday murder of the housewife at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice yesterday took five persons into custody for questioning, and have said they are not ruling out a conspiracy theory that has been floated.However, relatives and friends of Anita Baichan are adamant that the destruction of her home and her murder had nothing to do with a family feud.

One relative summed up the views of the others as follows: “It had to be a robbery! Her husband died years ago. She was a hardworking woman who brought up her children as a single parent.”

Her son Moshin Khan, who had also experienced the ordeal of being beaten and terrorised by the bandits, but managed to escape the blazing house, yesterday also supported the theory that robbery had been the primary motive of the bandits.

He said that no member in his family had had any problems with anyone, and he could not think of anyone other than bandits who would have had a motive for the attack on the family.

A source close to the ongoing police investigation disclosed that sleuths are still working with the theory of robbery as the primary motive for the two-bandit attack on the family, but conspiracy has not been ruled out.

Relatives of the late Anita Baichan disclosed that a post-mortem will be performed on her remains today, after which the body would be handed over for burial.

Ms Baichan was burnt to death in her home in a fire set by bandits in the aftermath of a home invasion/robbery early Sunday morning. After the robbery, when the house had been set alight, Ms Baichan tried to escape from the building, but could not because she had been gagged with duct tape and bound hand and foot by the two bandits during the course of the robbery.

Up to press time, the five persons picked up for questioning — reportedly all from Bath Settlement — were still assisting the police with their investigations.

Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum has only recently said that ‘staged crimes’ have been a major challenge for detectives this year. Noting that 2015 was not without its challenges in general, Blanhum had said: “In my years of policing, I cannot recall coming across the number of staged robberies as was evident in 2015.”

Another bugbear for the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which he heads, was persons conspiring to commit murder, including instances where relatives were involved, as was the case when a man hired persons to rob him and his entire family just so he could stop his wife from leaving him. That incident took place three months ago in the Crabwood Creek area.

Krishendatt Jettoo, who operates a business, was reportedly having issues with his wife, as a result of which she threatened to leave him. Not wanting her to make good on her promise, Jettoo conspired with bandits to rob and beat his family in a fake attack. But even back then, Blanhum had seen through the ploy, as he had named the businessman and a taxi driver friend of his among key suspects in the robbery.

The case eventually began to unravel after police nabbed the taxi driver, who had helped the bandits make good their getaway. Not knowing that the police were on to him, Jettoo had told the police that five men had invaded his home and had carted off an undisclosed amount of cash and other valuables.

Weeks before that incident, Berbician Deochand Sookchand was charged with the murder of his wife. Deochand had claimed that bandits had invaded his home and shot his wife, 56-year-old Pamela Kendall.

And on Monday last, police recovered over $4M from another staged robbery in the city, for which three men have since been arrested.

By Clifford Stanley