Last Saturday, Ravindra Deo, who abducted and killed eight-year-old Vishnu Bhim, walked out of the Georgetown Prisons, courtesy of a Presidential pardon from the outgoing Head of State. ...
He recalled that about a year ago he received news that his son’s killer would be released.
Bhim said that he travelled to Guyana after he heard that the former President was planning to pardon the man responsible for his son’s death.
...The grieving father said he raised his concerns with the former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, who assured him that it was just a rumour.
“But lo and behold, within the short space of time, it’s a reality,” the man stressed. The Florida-based Guyanese now wonders why the former President would pardon someone who committed such an unconscionable act.
Child killer pardoning …Parents aggrieved, were cheated out of justice
Shock and disbelief are two words being used by United States of America–based, couple Heeralall and Chaimwatie Bhim, as they described their reaction to the news that the man who was convicted for the cold blooded murder of their only child two decades ago, was set free by former President, Donald Ramotar.
Chaimwatie Bhim and Heeralall Bhim
Last Saturday, Ravindra Deo, who abducted and killed eight-year-old Vishnu Bhim, walked out of the Georgetown Prisons, courtesy of a Presidential pardon from the outgoing Head of State. But the news that Deo has been freed only forced the child’s parents, who migrated to the US shortly after the killing, to re-live the horrible incident. Mr. and Mrs. Bhim currently reside in Orlando, Florida, USA. The aggrieved parents told this publication that after spending years struggling to cope with the grief and agony of losing their only child in such a horrible manner, they “feel cheated out of justice,” knowing that his murderer is free to walk the streets again. With this new development, Mr. Bhim said that he and his wife are now forced to endure the indescribable, especially since the incident remains fresh in their minds. “It’s so fresh … It’s like it was just yesterday… To hear such a thing now has my wife crying. She is in shock, she can’t take it,” Mr. Bhim said.
Murdered: Vishnu Bhim, the couple’s only child.
He recalled that about a year ago he received news that his son’s killer would be released. Bhim said that he travelled to Guyana after he heard that the former President was planning to pardon the man responsible for his son’s death. The grieving father said he raised his concerns with the former Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, who assured him that it was just a rumour. “But lo and behold, within the short space of time, it’s a reality,” the man stressed. The Florida-based Guyanese now wonders why the former President would pardon someone who committed such an unconscionable act. “How could the President pardon a man who did such a horrible thing? Why him? Why not some other person? He took from us our only child. That‘s not right. That’s not justice,” he lamented. Given the fact that the killer is now a free man, Mrs. Bhim also expressed fear for the safety of those who provided evidence in the trial. “This is a man who had threatened us. People’s lives are at risk. People are scared for our lives because our son’s killer is out on the streets again. We have relatives back home. I’ve travelled home at least three times in the last year,” Mrs. Bhim said. Now she is uncertain whether she will be returning to Guyana again. The couple is now considering if any action can be taken to reverse the former President’s decision. They are mulling over any legal options available to them. Deo, 39, was just 19 years old, when he kidnapped and killed the young child, who was making his way home from school at Annandale, East Coast Demerara. The killers had reportedly demanded a $1M ransom. Prior to the kidnapping, the suspect had allegedly gone to the child’s home and had asked the victim’s father, Heeralall Bhim, for a job in his carpentry shop. He was arrested a few days later in America Street, and on December 1, 1994, he led detectives and villagers to La Bonne Intention, backdam, where they found the eight-year-old boy’s bound, gagged and battered body. He had initially claimed that an individual named ‘Kresho’ of Mahaicony, had assisted in the kidnapping. Police searched the Mahaicony area for ‘Kresho’ but never found him. Deo was subsequently convicted and sentenced to death in 1995. But an ex-parte injunction was filed to prevent his execution. He was eventually removed from death row. Deo was serving a life sentence, before he was released from prison.