THE police are investigating the suspected murder of businessman, “Johnny” Ragubeer, which reportedly occurred between 21:30hrs on Monday night and 13:00hrs on Tuesday at 33 Miles, Kurupukari, Upper Demerara River.
According to information from the Guyana Police Force (GPF), investigations revealed that Ragubeer operated a shop at 33 Miles Kurupukari, where he sold groceries and alcoholic beverages.
Sukharona Roopnarine, called Cindy, a 25-year-old businesswoman, operates a “cook” shop about 400 metres south of the shop.
According to Roopnarine, around 17:30hrs on Monday, after she had closed her business, she and her two sons, ages seven and eight years old, visited Ragubeer.
On her arrival at his shop, she reportedly met him and a 25-year-old labourer drinking alcohol. She subsequently sat with them and imbibed as well.
According to the police, around 18:00hrs, the labourer left to go back to his camp, while Roopnarine and her children left around 21:30hrs to go to her shop and Ragubeer accompanied them, after which he returned to his shop.
The man’s body was, however, found lying about 50 feet from his shop around 12:30hrs by a goldminer and two friends who were travelling to Brazil and had stopped by the shop while on their way. The goldminer reported the discovery of the body to the police at Mabura.
On arrival at the scene, police saw a wound on the man’s throat, a cut to his left ear and bruises to his upper back. What appeared to be “dried” blood stains were seen on the ground next to the body.
There was also a black plastic bag next to the body, which contained leaves, seeds, and stems suspected to be cannabis. A cellphone was found in the shop, suspected to be that of the now-deceased man.
The entire scene was processed by detectives and photographed. The victim was later escorted to the Linden Hospital Complex, where he was pronounced dead around 02:44hrs on Wednesday morning. The body was further escorted to G. Jetsco Funeral Home, where it is awaiting a post-mortem.
The police took statements and have since arrested the 25-year-old labourer to assist with the investigation. The suspected cannabis found at the scene was weighed, and it amounted to 103.6 grams. The cellphone was also lodged for analysis, as further investigations continue.
