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RAMSUCHIT RAMLOCHAN and his wife Merlin

 

Where the killers entered Ramlochan’s home

Ramsuchit Ramlochan,  proprietor of Ramlochan’s Bakery based at No. 7 Village, West Coast Berbice, was shot dead  by masked, armed bandits who broke into his home early yesterday morning.

The businessman,54, was shot in the chest and abdomen and died before receiving medical attention.
The bandits,armed with pistols, then beat and terrorized his wife Merlin before running off with an undisclosed sum of money and a revolver.

At the time of the attack, Ramlochan and his wife were alone at home in the upper flat of their two storeyed building which houses the bakery in the bottom flat.

Reports stated that the attack carried out by three men took place around 2.30 h.

The bandits are reported to have gained access to the upper flat by climbing a concrete ramp and then heaving themselves onto the verandah.

They forced a glass door which was not protected by Grill-work to gain entry into the building but might have had to wait some time in the hallway as the bedrooms were all locked.

They seized their opportunity when Mrs Ramlochan opened her bedroom door  to go to the washroom.

The bandits pounced on her and her cries for help awoke the businessman who ran out of the bedroom and was met with a hail of bullets as the bandits opened fire.He collapsed at the doorway.

The bandits then spent about twenty minutes in the building before leaving with money and the businessman’s firearm.

Ramlochan was rushed to the Fort Wellington Cottage Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Employees later found two masks behind the bakery.

Mrs Ramlochan was too overcome by horror and grief to recount the details of her harrowing experience.

West Berbice Police were yesterday investigating the slaying of the businessman and a reliable source said that two men had been arrested and were assisting with the investigations.

Ramlochan  was the father of four children, all residing overseas.He was a member of the West Berbice Lions and was treasurer of the West Berbice Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Relatives said that he had established his bakery at No.7 Village, also known as Willemstad, four miles west of Rosignol, and the village of his birth, some 26 years ago.

Over the years he had developed his business into a hi-tech, state-of-the-art entity which now provides  employment for some 80 workers, in production and sales.

The bakery’s products are sold all along the East and West Coast, and East and West Bank of Berbice, on the East Coast of Demerara, in Georgetown, as far as Linden on the East Bank Demerara, and on the West Demerara.

Reports say that the businessman and his wife had supported a barbecue at neighbouring No.5 Village earlier Saturday night and had returned home just before midnight.

Villagers and other prominent members of the community reacted to the manner of his death with deep sadness and regret.

“Anybody in No.7 got a problem, they could go to him and get help. He was a good man. I dontlike how he dead.

They could have tie him up or something. They needn’t have killed that man,” one villager said.

President of the WBCIC Mr Muntaz Ali recalled that the businessman had been an entrepreneur who had started his business from scratch.

“I have known him for over 30 years. He used to sell oil, fish, chow mein and all that stuff before he got into the bakery business. He was always a quiet man, a quiet speaker. This is a very disturbing
development on the West Coast of Berbice . I hope that the perpetrators are apprehended and placed where they belong.” he said.

Ali urged  businessmen to take note of what he saw as a “disturbing emergence of gun crimes in the West Coast Berbice area, and to upgrade the security of their premises and to be vigilant .

Chairman of the Regional Democratic Council of Region
5 (Mahaica/Berbice), Harrinarine Baldeo, was among those who visited the scene and expressed condolences to Mrs Ramlochan.

Baldeo expressed outrage at the manner of the killing of the late businessman.

“Region Five in general and West Berbice in particular has been a relatively peaceful and calm place. We will not sit by and allow criminals to disturb the relative peace and calm we have been enjoying,” he said.

He also urged businessmen to assist the work of the olice by taking immediate steps to upgrade the security of their properties and families.

Members of the Full Gospel Church at Cotton Tree Village West Coast Berbice, of which Ramlochan and his wife were members, were also at the home to offer condolences and support to the widow.

Yesterday morning several of the employees of the bakery were at the premises offering sympathy to Mrs Ramlochan .

The body of the late businessman was taken to the mortuary at the Amsterdam Hospital for a post mortem expected to take place today.

Monday, December 19, 2005