SHAM Bharrat Chunnilall Mannilall, 48, of Lot 61 Parcel, Queenstown, Essequibo, Region Two, reportedly died on the spot after he was shot four times by armed bandits on Friday night.

This was confirmed by his wife, Rita Terbeni, who said January 10, 2020, will forever be a day to remember. Mannilall is a known newspaper vendor on the Essequibo Coast.

A tearful Terbeni said the incident occurred around 20:05 hrs. She was doing a bar-b-que in front of her house at the time and as she was going into the house to collect two glasses, she was approached by two armed bandits.

“They approached us at the sidestep. It was slim, tall men; one put a gun to my head and the other put a cutlass to my daughter. My daughter managed to escape and ran inside the house and started to scream,” Terbeni related.

The screams alerted her husband, who armed himself with a mop stick and ran to her rescue. He reportedly dealt a lash to one of the men when another, who was armed, opened fire.

“My husband then dropped to the ground. It was like a movie in front my eyes; my daughter was inside locked up. They searched his pocket and went with all of our house keys. They didn’t leave with anything, they just ran away,” Terbeni related. A spent shell was recovered from the crime scene.

She said the robbers first demanded money and before she could comply, the ordeal unfolded and ended tragically.

The now-widowed woman said after the bandits made their escape, residents quickly gathered and her husband was taken to the Suddie Public Hospital where he succumbed.

Terbeni said her family did not have any grievance with members of her community.

Residents say Mannilall was a very hard-working individual and began selling newspapers since he was 12 years old, a job he inherited from his father.

Police have held six persons for questioning and three are in custody.
The body of Mannilall is at the Suddie Mortuary awaiting a post-mortem.