Two held for murder of Mahaicony cash crop farmer

Two men have been arrested and questioned for the murder of cash crop farmer Dearoop Sieuchand, 72, of Lot 8 Zeeland, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara who was killed on Sunday morning during a robbery at his home.

The two men are at the Mahaicony Police Station and are being grilled, but have not confessed to the murder.  As the police continue their investigation, they are also looking for a third suspect.

Ambika Sieuchand, the 70-year-old wife of the murdered man, remains a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital with facial injuries that required several stitches. When Guyana Times International visited the woman on Monday, she was clearly under the impression that her husband had received injuries, was treated and sent home. Relatives there were careful how they spoke to her since any news of her husband’s death might result in her condition worsening.

In a soft voice, the widow explained that she was in the upper flat of the house when three men invaded the home, asking for money and jewellery. She said her husband fought with one of them while she was pulled down the stairs by the others. The bandits, she added, were wearing metal rings which they used to assault her.

Sitting on her hospital bed, the woman disclosed that she managed to see their faces as they were hitting her, but after receiving several punches to the face and body, she “went blank”.

Her husband’s young nephew, she explained, stays with them but she was not sure if anything had happened to him. From reports received, the lad reportedly hid from the bandits and after the ordeal, he contacted his relatives.

The body of Dearoop Sieuchand was found in his house with at least 17 stab wounds, around 06:45h on Sunday.

The man’s wife had been taken to the Mahaicony Hospital, but was subsequently transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where she was admitted.

According to information received, the couple’s house was ransacked but relatives on Monday could not say if anything was missing since they did not have the time to check.  Sieuchand and his wife, along with his nephew, lived in the third house on the plot of land while the first and second are occupied by other relatives.

The perpetrators reportedly used a ladder to gain entry into the home through a window on the upper flat of the house.

Meanwhile, a post-mortem examination was performed on the body of the farmer and the cause of death was given as multiple incised wounds compounded by blunt force trauma to the head.