Relatives of 23-year-old Sabutaro Singh called ‘Mark’ and ‘Papi’ believe that he was put on a ‘hit list’ two months ago and that his murder on Wednesday was well planned and executed.
They now fear that other members of his family may also have been marked for death.
Singh, a carpenter and part-time vendor of Herstelling, East Bank Demerara was fatally stabbed on Regent Street, Georgetown on Wednesday night.
The dead man was previously charged with several others for simple larceny in relation to the $400 million gold heist which occurred at Mahaica, East Coast Demerara between December 2021 and January 2022.
On Thursday, his grieving mother Shiroon Mohamed revisited the site where her son met his demise.
While there, she told the News Room that in early October she received a telephone call stating that her entire family was placed on a hit list.
“A phone call I get, they said 10 persons the hit go out for. They called my name, my husband’s name, my son’s name, my daughter-in-law’s name,” the tearful woman said.
These claims were never reported to the Police.
“I did not say anything, I told my children and my husband,” Mohamed stated.
Even in his death, she pleaded her son’s innocence in the robbery.
Just last month, on November 19, Singh was at his house when he was shot in his buttocks by an unidentifiable male.
The mother said he also received death threats when he appeared in court last month.
The family now claims that since Singh was named as a suspect in the multi-million robbery, suspicious vehicles are parked outside of their house every night.
“They got different vehicles parked outside by me every night and they are there for two or three hours,” Mohamed told the News Room.
On Wednesday, Mohamed said she was out vending with her son but after she felt ill, he told her to go home.
“I come down to sell with him yesterday and I gaff with him. He said mommy if you not feel alright, go home and meh seh alright,” the grieving woman recalled.
“My son was nice and kind to me. When I sit and talk with him yesterday, he said ‘mommy I have something for you and I will come over and bring it for you for your house’.”
The incident occurred at around 18:00hrs while Singh was on the phone with his wife, Trisha Singh.
“I called him to buy some gift paper and some stuff to put on the Christmas tree. While talking to him, the phone fall out of his hand and my little cousin pick up the phone and said Trisha somebody stabbed Papi in he neck,” the wife related.
She said her husband would only vend during the Christmas season.
Trisha also denies her husband’s involvement in the robbery.
“I turned in my husband with a lawyer when I heard he was wanted,” the wife said.
She believes her husband was a suspect because he is related to Bhaloonauth Seegobin, 49, a contractor and construction worker and 24-year-old Satrohan Seegobin called ‘Richie’, both of whom were charged and remanded to prison for the robbery.
“Everybody does smoke together, drink together so obviously they hold my husband as suspect because they said he get something out of the money,” Trisha explained.
The Seegobins who were hired by gold dealer, Bibi Acklema Goberdhan to conduct repairs to her house at Mahaica, stumbled on 1,000 ounces of raw gold worth $400M, reportedly stole it and then went on a spending spree.
Investigators later seized seven vehicles that were bought following the robbery and recovered $6 million cash and some 28.8 ounces of the stolen gold.