Montrose robbery… Second bandit identified as UG graduate

MAHENDRA Sukull, called ‘Vickey’, 24, of Ramtahal Street, Prashad Nagar, Georgetown,has been identified as the second bandit who was shot and killed by the police on Monday night during the daring robbery at the Lahago Supercenter at Montrose, East Coast Demerara. 

Sukull, a 2008 graduate of the University of Guyana, reportedly lost his mother to suicide some years ago, and had been living alone for a number of years as his father resides overseas.

Killed: Former policeman, Warren Blue

Yesterday, the Guyana Chronicle paid a visit to William Street, Campbellville where Sukull reportedly lived for a short period.
Persons in the area recalled that early on Monday, hours before he was killed in the shootout with cops, the young man visited friends in the area as he usually does. It is believed that he was scheduled to appear in court for a matter involving himself and his former landlord.

The Lahago Supercenter yesterday

One woman, whose son and the now dead bandit were close friends, said that she would have sworn for him on any given day.
According to her, Sukull and her son, along with others from a Government agency, usually came to the home to play dominoes. Sukull, as a resident of the area, would also play ball games with the little children in the street. She said that he was the kind of guy who didn’t go out often, and was not employed at the time of his death.
Another woman said that the same attire the man had on when he was shot on Monday night is the same clothes they saw him in earlier in the day. However other persons who spoke with this newspaper said that despite the many friends that the now dead man had he was never seen in the company of the former policeman in the past nor did they ever see that character in the William Street area.
A check in Prashad Nagar which the police listed as the place the man was living at the time he met his demise found that he was not known to persons who reside there. No one seemed to know the young man in the area and each person who this publication spoke with reported that the news that the man lived in that area and the named street was a shocker as he was never seen before.
On Monday evening Warren Blue, a former policeman, who was wanted for murder, and Sukull were killed as they traded bullets with the police following the robbery and assault of the proprietors of the supermarket.
During the ordeal, 52-year-old Latchmie Baburan was beaten and shot to the leg and her daughter also badly beaten as they initially refused to hand over monies which the bandits had demanded.
After Latchmie Baburan was shot by the former police officer, his accomplice, Sukull, allegedly chambered a round in his weapon and attempted to shoot the woman’s daughter, Anupya Baburan. However, the women decided to hand over the money to the bandits who had ordered that they open the safe.
Blue was reportedly shot after he exited the supercenter and attempted to flee through a cross street in Montrose while Sukull was killed inside the supermarket where he was spotted hiding behind some five gallon water bottles.
When the Guyana Chronicle revisited the scene yesterday morning the business place was still closed. The robbery Monday night was the sixth at the location since the establishment opened its doors.
On Monday night at the Georgetown Public Hospital relatives of the fugitive policeman showed up at the GPH in tears as they sought to confirm if he had indeed been killed by the police following a robbery.
Following the death of the former policeman, sections of the media reported that the mother of Shaquille Grant, the Agricola teen who was shot and killed by Blue while he was a serving member of the force, praised the law enforcement officers for bringing the fugitive cop turned bandit down.
Up to press time the police were still said to be looking for another man who they believe was the driver of the getaway car which was waiting on the bandits near the scene of the robbery.