FAMILY members and friends paid their last respects yesterday to the late Dhanraj Latchman, the 17-year-old car owner of Lusignan, East Coast Demerara who was murdered in Parika Backdam, East Bank Essequibo, allegedly by two teenagers (who are said to be cousins) he had known well.

Latchman’s devastated parents could barely contain themselves at the funeral service held at their Lusignan home, especially when his body had to be interred at the Good Hope Cemetery, East Coast Demerara.

One family member declared that the murderers must spend the rest of their lives in prison.

The late Dhanraj Latchman’s two friends had reportedly planned his death for two weeks, as they sought to sell his car. The teen’s car was discovered several miles from where the men had murdered him, but his body was discovered a day after the car had been found.

The suspects reportedly confessed to killing Latchman, and allegedly detailed to the police how the entire plan had been crafted. They allegedly told investigators that they strangled him at the Parika Backdam.

The Director of Public Prosecution has allegedly advised the police that another person who has been listed as an accessory to the crime should be allowed to testify for the State.

There still has been no word on what the police plan to do with the father of one of the teens who had attempted to pervert the course of justice.

The two teenagers charged with the murder of 17-year-old Dhanraj Latchman appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry on Tuesday and have since been remanded to prison.

The two cousins, 17-year-old Asraf Ali and 18-year-old Abdul Razack, were not required to plead to the indictable offence which alleges that, between June 10 and 14, at Parika Backdam, they murdered Latchman in the course of a robbery; that is to say, to steal motor car PMM 9823 and two cellular phones.

Police Corporal Bharat Mangru, prosecuting, told the court that the facts are as stated in the charge.

The duo was unrepresented, and the matter was transferred to the Leonora Magistrate’s Court for June 24.
Written By Asif Hakim