Suspected burnt, dismembered remains found behind home of missing Berbice youth’s boss
-three arrested.
October 7,2017
Mahendra Ghanie
One of the spots in the cemetery where the suspected remains were discovered.
Another spot where the suspected remains were found.
Burnt and dismembered skeletal remains, suspected to be those of a missing Bloomfield Village, Corentyne, Berbice youth, were found yesterday in a cemetery behind the home of his boss, who has reportedly admitted to police that he burned the body.
Mahendra Ghanie, also known as ‘Sanjay,’ a 21-year-old blockmaker of Lot 196 Bloomfield Village, was last heard from by relatives on Monday evening, when he told them he had arrived at his boss’ Number 55 Village, Corentyne home.
Stabroek News was told that the suspected remains were found in two different locations in a cemetery behind the house yesterday, fueling suspicions that Ghanie might have been dismembered. Depending on the state of the remains that were recovered, DNA tests may have to be done to positively determine that they are Ghanie’s.
‘B’ Division Commander Lyndon Alves told this newspaper last evening that Ghanie’s boss and a worker have admitted to burning his body. Ghanie’s boss, his son and another worker are in custody. A police source, who asked not to be named, later said that all three have confessed to killing Ghanie and burning.
“We find like five pieces of bone and the police find a lot more when them come. Like them chop he up because is two different spot,” said Razack Ghanie, 23, the brother of the missing youth, who told Stabroek News that a red and white jersey and a cellular phone were also discovered at the scene.
Zorrina Ghanie, 20, the missing man’s sister, told Stabroek News that her brother, who started to work for the prime suspect some four months ago, received a call around 5 pm on Monday from his boss, who directed him to head to work in Number 55 Village. “He call and tell Sanjay he get some work to do and let he go. So, Sanjay go and around 8 he call and say he meet,” she added.
Zorrina stated that on Tuesday her family tried several times to call her brother on his cellular phone but the calls went unanswered. As a result, the family assumed that he was busy working.
“When he gone, he does spend two, three days,” she explained.
However, on Wednesday morning, the man’s relatives became suspicious and headed to Number 55 Village to search. During the search, residents contacted Ghanie’s relatives and reportedly told them that the youth’s boss was seen lighting a “big fire” in the cemetery behind his house.
Zorrina noted that the family had filed a missing person’s report on Wednesday at the Whim Police Station and at the Number 51 Police Station. However, after residents related the information about the fire to the police, Ghanie’s boss was arrested on Thursday.
After his arrest, residents said they noticed the man’s sons lighting another fire behind their father’s house. As a result, one of the sons and a worker were arrested.
Razack stated that on Friday the family decided to head to the location where the fires were reportedly lit. “We went 51 station and ask for a police go with us and them say none police na deh, so we decide to go we alone,” he explained, before noting that one of the man’s sons subsequently went to the station and accused him of threatening him. “…But them police end up put he in the lock up too… Then them police say let we go back, me and me cousins them go search again and I see a fire spot and two short piece of bone and me start juk more and me call me cousin and then we call the police,” he added.
According to Razack, the police arrived on the scene some one hour after they were phoned.
According to Ghanie’s sister, some time ago her brother and his boss were involved in a fight after the man accused her brother of stealing a sim card. “…Them did argue and Sanjay did stop work and then them make up and everything been seem okay,” the young woman noted. She could not think of any motive for why the man would want to hurt her brother.
Ghanie had been living with his mother, two sisters and a brother at Bloomfield. His father is expected to return to Guyana today.