Parika backdam mechanic shot dead during robbery

A Parika backdam man was on Tuesday night shot dead when two men quietly pounced on him.

Dead is 46-year-old Somdat Ramgobin, who is well known as Rakesh. The incident has shocked the peaceful farming community.

Somdat lived alone, but his relatives, including one of his brothers and his 80-year-old mother Sumintra, lived next door.

The incident occurred at about 21:00 hrs.

Somdat was at home with his friend Ravi Gonsalves when the two men barged into the house.

Gonsalves, who lives in the area, would usually visit to lime. At the time, he said he was helping Ramgobin cook when the men pounced on them.

According to Gonsalves, as soon as the men entered the house, they asked for “Rakesh.”

Gonsalves said he attempted to escape but one of the men pointed a gun at him and ordered him to lie on the ground.

Then, the other person snatched Ramgobin to the neck and lashed him with a rum bottle and demanded money and gold. At first, Gonsalves said Ramgon denied having money and the men proceeded to beat him further. Ramgobin then handed them a bundle of cash.

Afterwards, Gonsalves said one of the men playfully pressed the barrel of the gun up and down Ramgobin’s face.

“And then the gun went off,” said Gonsalves. The men escaped in a waiting car, taking nothing else.

Apart from being a mechanic, Ramgobin operated a grocery shop in the yard.

The Ramgobins are originally from the Essequibo island of Wakenaam but moved to Parika backdam about 40 years ago.